-The Penguins' startesr are Chris Kunitz, Evgeni Malkin, James Neal, Simon Despres, Deryk Engelland and Marc-Andre Fleury.

-Their scratches are Steve MacIntyre, Paul Martin and Jordan Staal.

-The Sabres' starters are Tyler Ennis, Derek Roy, Drew Stafford, Robyn Regehr, Andrej Sekera and Ryan Miller.

-Their scratches are Jochen Hecht, Brayden McNabb and Corey Tropp.

-The Penguins lines appear to be

Chris Kunitz - Evgeni Malkin - James Neal
Matt Cooke - Pascal Dupuis - Tyler Kennedy
Steve Sullivan - Joe Vitale - Arron Asham
Eric Tangradi - Craig Adams - Jason Williams

Brooks Orpik-Matt Niskanen
Simon Despres-Deryk Engelland
Alexandre Picard-Carl Sneep

-We can relax our "No Jimerson-No Photo" rule for Sgt. Bob Timney:

FIRST PERIOD

18:49: Niskanen steps up and one-times a loose puck above the right circle wide to the far side.

17:43: Welcome back to the NHL Jason Williams. Williams move sup the right wing with the puck, winds up and chops a slapper from outside the blue line. It's a curve ball, so to speak, and sneaks under the blocker of Miller. A horrible goal for him to allow. Williams and the Penguins will take it. Picard and Adams get assists. The "Woo-Hoo!" song is played. Penguins 1-0.

16:26: Tyler Ennis shuffles a one-handed pass to Roy rushing up  the right wing. Roy has a clean look from the net and snaps off a wrister from the right circle to the far side. Fleury punches it away with his blocker.

15:34: The Penguins get an early power play as Cranberry native Mike Weber is called for tripping against Kennedy. Niskanen, Sullivan, Malkin, Neal and Kunitz take the ice.

14:26: Malkin has a wrister from a tough angle on the right wing blocked out of play by the stick of Jordan Leopold.

14:12: Kennedy has a wrister from teh slot blocked in front.

14:03: Dupuis booms a one-timer from the right circle which Miller fends off.

13:53: Welcome to the NHL Simon Despres. Williams controls the puck at the top of the slot and deals to Kennedy on the left half wall. Kennedy then distributes to Despres in the right circle. Despres releases a half one-timer which beats Miller low. That may have hit something on the way into the cage. Despres doesn't care. He does a sideways fist pump to celebrate his first NHL goal. Talk about secondary scoring. Kennedy and Williams get assists. The "Woo-Hoo!" song is played. Penguins 2-0.

10:17: Talk about a bad night. Miller is having one. Kunitz zips into the offensive zone  and leaves a drop pass for Malkin in the slot. Malkin picks it up and snaps off a wrister by the gloves hand of a helpless Miller. Malkin does a one-legged celebration in the left wing corner. Miller heads to the locker room early and is replaced by Jonas Enroth. Kunitz and Orpik get assists. It's Orpik's 100th career point and Malkin's 450th point. The "Woo-Hoo!" song triple shifts. The "Malkamania" video makes an apperance. Penguins  3-0.

9:22: Luke Adam flings a wrister at the cage from the right wing off a drop pass. Fleury fights it off.

8:03: Roy gains the offensive zone on the right wing and flings a wrister on net. Fleury fends if off. Adam

7:24: Neal has a wrister from the right circle blocked by Regehr.

7:05: The Sabres get on the scoreboard. Vanek gains the offensive zone down the slot and simply flings a wrister on net while using Orpik as a screen. The puck appears to glance off Fleury's glove and goes into the cage. A sizeable contingent of Sabres fans finally have something to celebrate. Regehr and Jason Pominville get assists. Penguins 3-1.

5:54: Adams deals a pass to Sneep deep on the left wing. Sneep chucks a wrister on net. Enroth fights it off.

5:24: Off a turnover by the Penguins, Regehr chucks a wrister from the left wing wall. Fleury denies it.

5:09: Engelland flies up the right wing and from alongside the cage, he deals a little pass to Neal. Neal can't quite get a clean stick on the puck.

4:11: Kennedy taps a feed from the right wing to the slot. Dupuis is there all alone and jabs the puck wide to the left of the cage.

3:17: Some up and down hockey here. Ennis gains the offensive zone down the slot and taps a feed to Roy on the right wing. Roy snaps off a wrister to the far side. Fleury kicks it out with his right skate.

2:30: It's 1980s goaltending night apparently. Sneep chips apuck from behind how own net up the right wing boards. Neal is there to take the pass but engages with Leopold and allows it to slide up ice. Malkin picks it up, races up the right wing, fends off Christian Ehrhoff and taps a backhander under the pads of Enroth. Not a great display of goaltending tonight. Sneep and Picard get assists. It's Sneep's first career point. The "Woo-Hoo!" song and Malkamania video are played. Penguins 4-1.

1:50: After an icing call, the Penguins call timeout to get a breather.

1:07: Malkin flings a wrister from the left cicle. Sekera blocks it.

1:05: Paul Szczechura high sticks Malkin. That's two minute. Malkin, Neal, Niskanen, Sullivan and Kunitz take the ice.

0:41: Malkin winds up and holds a shots. He finally releases teh puck but Zack Kassian skates over to blocks it.

0:00: End of period. Penguins fans offer their team a standing ovation as they head off the ice. Penguins 4, Sabres 1.

FIRST INTERMISSION

-Three things stood out in that period 1.) Evgeni Malkin is carrying a bigger load. 2.) The call-ups from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton want to show what they can do. 3.) The Sabres brought Darren Puppa to play net tonight.

-Malkin is playing like he wants to prove something. Through 20 minutes, he's proving this is his team tonight.

-It's amazing how William's "curveball" seemed to rattle Miller. Miller just didn't seem confident after allowing that goal.

-Sneep looks solid so far. He really hasn't made any mistakes and he's been a little aggressive on offense. He has seven shifts for 5:44 of ice time, one assist and is plus-2.

-Roy has been Buffalo's most consistent offensive player thus far. He keeps getting decent chances.

-The Penguins have a 13-9 lead in shots.

-Roy leads the game with four shots.

-Malkin leads the Penguins with three.

-Regehr leads the game with 7:59 of ice time.

-Malkin leads the Penguins with 7:32.

-The Penguins have a 13-11 edge in faceoffs (54 percent).

-Szczechura is 4 for 5 (80 percent).

-Malkin is 6 for 9 (67 percent).

-Former Penguin Jordan Leopold leads the game with three blocked shots.

-Fire Ray Shero.

-None of the Penguins has more than one.

SECOND PERIOD

20:00: The Penguins will have 55 seconds of power-play time on fresh ice. Malkin, Kunitz, Sullivan, Neal and Niskanen take the ice. Miller is back in net.

19:20: Niskanen drives a one-timer from the left circle which Sekera blocks.

19:07: The Penguins make every second count. Malkin takes a pass in the right circle. He stops the pass with his skate then distributes it to Neal below the hashmarks. Neal uncorks a one-timer which burns Miller. There was two seconds left on that power play. It's just not Miller's night. Malkin and Niskanen get assists. The "Woo-Hoo!" song is played. Penguins 5-1.

18:12: "Milllll.....eerrrrrr.....Milllll.....eerrrrrr....."

17:50: The Sabres get a chance to get back into this as Asham is called for hooking Adam.  Cooke, Adams, Engelland and Orpik take the ice.

15:50: Two minutes later, the Sabres accomplish nothing with that chance.

15:12: Off at urnover by Cooke, Matt Ellis flings a wrister at the cage from above the

14:27: Vanek, a fairly dangerous offensive player, challenges Sneep one-on-one off the left wing. Sneep pesters him enough to knock the puck loose. Fleury poke checks it away out of danger.

13:29: Off some fancy passing, Dupuis has a chance in tight denied by Miller.

11:39: Engelland contorls a loose puck at the left wing and drives it at the cage. His shot is off the mark.

7:51: After a few stagnant minutes, Ehrhoff races into the offensive zone and booms a slapper from the left point. Fleury fends it off.

7:16: Ennis heads to the dressing room.

5:58: Szczechura has a wrister from the left circle blocked by Sneep.

5:46: The great Joe Vitale lifts a wrister from the left wing. Miller gloves it.

4:57: Off a give and go with Orpik, Dupuis fans on a one-timer and chops it wide to the right of the cage.

3:30: Looks like Adams might be in the dressing room. He hasn't recorded a shift since 14:55.

2:51: Leopold booms a one-timer from the right point. Orpik blocks it in front.

2:06: Miller's horrible night continues. Engelland Coast sup the left wing one one-one with Weber. Engelland flings a knuckler on net which squeaks through Miller's gear and trickles into the cage. A brutal goal to allow. Dupuis and Asham jump Engelland to celebrate his rare goal. Asham and Dupuis get assists. Dupuis records his 300th career point. The "Woo-Hoo!" song hasn't been rare tonight. Penguins 6-1.

1:58: "Millllll.....Errrrr.....Millllll.....Errrrr....."

0:03: Paul Gaustad flings a wrister on net from the right point. Fleury fights it off.

0:00: End of period. Penguins 6, Sabres 1.

SECOND INTERMISSION

-That was more of the same. The Penguins are simply feasting on a goaltender who is having a bad night.

-You have to wonder what Lindy Ruff is trying to do by keeping Miller in net. Is Enroth injured?

-After an off night last night, the Penguins have buttoned up defensively tonight. They're not allowing the Sabres much space or time to operate with.

-The power play has been dangerous.

-Sneep continues to impress. He had 10:09 of ice time on 12 shifts.

-The Penguins have a 21-15 lead in shots.

-Roy and Engelland each lead the game with four shots.

-Sekera leads the game with 14:53 of ice time.

-Niskanen leads the Penguins with 14:46.

-The Penguins are dominating faceoffs, 26-15 (63 percent).

-Malkin is 9 for 13 (69 percent).

-Szczechura is 5 for 9 (56 percent).

-Leopold and Sekera each lead the game with three blocked shots.

-Fire Ray Shero.

-Orpik leads the Penguins with two.

THIRD PERIOD

20:00: Enroth is back in Buffalo's net.

19:17: Niskanen is called for interference against Roy. The great Joe Vitale, Orpik, Cooke and Engelland take the ice.

18:08: Drew Stafford decides to make an appearance and whips a heavy wrister from the right wing. Fleury knocks it dead and covers. Attendance is announced as 18,584. It is the team's 224th consecutive sellout

17:17: The Niskanen minor is killed. The Sabres did next to nothing with that chance.

15:25: Vanek gets a step on Despres and gets behind him at the Penguins' blue line. Despres dives back and pokes the puck just enough to knock it off his stick. Engelland skates over in support and cleans the play up.

14:32: Cooke jumps on a loose puck at the left wing and whips it wide on the near side.

13:58: Marc-Andre Gragnani is called for hooking against Cooke. Malkin, Neal, Tangradi, Despres and Niskanen take the ice.

13:43: Malkin booms a one-timer from the right circle which deflects wide of the cage.

11:30: A wrister by Leopold from the left point is blocked by Neal.

11:34: Neal coasts up the right wing one-on-one with Leopold and flings a wrister off the mark.

11:11: Luke Adam with the snipe. He pulls a puck off Kunitz in the right wing corner of the offensive zone and rips a sick wrister by the glove hand of Fleury. There was something on that shot. The goal was unassisted. Penguins 6-2.

9:47: This is getting a tad interesting. Gaustad hustles up the right wing, gains the offensive zone one-on-one with Sneep. Sneep slides down to try a stick on puck but just slides out of the play.  Ellis drives to the cage and takes out Sullivan and Sneep. That allows Gaustad to sneaks a shot through the gear of Fleury and into the cage. The Sabres aren't quitting. Stafford and Sekera get assists. Penguins 6-3.

9:19: Sullivan races into the offensive zone on the right wing and cranks a slapper on net. Enroth eats it up.

9:05: Adams is questionable to return due to a "lower-body" ailment.

8:59: The Penguins get a chance to snuff out the Sabres' momentum with a power play. Gragnani is called for hooking Malkin.  Malkin, kunitz, Neal, Sullivan and Niskanen return to the ice.

8:17: Welcome back the 2008-09 Evgeni Malkin. He completes his hat. Off a give and go with Neal, he snaps off a wrister from the left circle. Weber leans down to block it. Malkin recovers the rebound and whips it through Enroth to complete the hat trick. hats litter the ice. The "Woo-Hoo!" song and "Malkamania" videos are played. Penguins 7-3.

7:58: "GEEEE-NO! GEEEE-NO!"

6:21: This is getting ugly. Malkin faces a slapper in the slot. he pulls his stick down, pushes the puck to the left circle, turns and leaves a pass for Kunitz. Kunitz steps up and snipes a sick wrister by the glove hand of Enroth to the far side. The "Woo-Hoo!" song will get a maintenance day tomorrow. Penguins 8-3.

6:08: The Penguins get another power play as Regehr is called for interference against Asham.  Williams, Sullivan, Kennedy, Despres and Niskanen take the ice.

6:02: Off the faceoff, Despres chucks a wrister on net from the top of the slot. Enroth eats it up.

4:34: Picard booms a one-timer from the right point to the far side. Picard kicks it out with his right leg.

4:08: The Regehr minor is killed. The Penguins mercifully took it easy that two minutes.

1:23: "LET'S GO PENS! LET'S GO PENS!"

0:18: Tangradi flings a wrister from the left circle wide on the near side.

0:00: End of game. Mike Lange informs us of Elvis' whereabouts. That lame "PIIIITTTSSBUUURGHH" song plays. Penguins 8, Sabres 3.

POSTGAME

-First things first, Craig Adams is day to day due to a "lower-body" injury.

-The Penguins came in desperate. The Sabres came in flat. Heck, they were worse than flat. They were concave. Either way, it made for a pretty one-sided game.

-The Sabres' goaltending was its biggest enemy tonight. Ryan Miller just didn't have it at all. And Jhonas Enroth wasn't much better. The goal by Justin Williams seemed to shake Miller a bit and he never recovered.

-The most impressive part of this game to us was  how the Penguins clamped down defensively. They were very sloppy last night on defense and gave the Senators way too much time and space to work with in the offensive zone. Tonight, the Sabres didn't get much of either, at least until later in the game when the decision was in hand.

-Evgeni Malkin played like the 2008-09 version which carried the team. Hopefully for the Penguins' sake, he can maintain this.

-The Penguins also found quite a bit of secondary scoring tonight. The Penguins saw four players who started the season in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton get a point tonight.

-This new line of Malkin, Chris Kunitz and James Neal has found some chemistry. The old line with Neal, Malkin and Steve Sullivan had gotten a little stale. It's amazing how just switching lines around like that can shake things up.

-Who would have thought Matt Niskanen would be the Penguins' best all-around healthy defenseman roughly three months ago?

-When did you ever think you would see three power-play goals by the Penguins in the same game?

-Engelland played another strong game. Even if you ignore his production tonight, he was a strong presence in his own zone. The Sabres didn't get too many free trips near the Penguins' net when Engelland was out there.

-The kids on defense were all right. Sneep was fairy impressive in his debut. He only really made one mistake on the Gaustad goal. Beyond that, he was fairly composed. He had 16-19 of ice time on 20 shifts, one assist, one blocked shot and was a plus-1.

-Despres is looking more and more like an every day NHL defensemen. If the Penguins ever do get fully healthy on defense - a big "if" - it will be difficult to return him to the AHL.

-The Penguins had a 26-19 lead in shots.

-Engelland, Malkin and Derek Roy each led the game with four shots.

-Andrej Sekera led the game with 24:42 of ice time.

-Niskanen led the Penguins with 21:20.

-The Penguins controlled faceoffs, 38-24 (61 percent).

-Malkin was 12 for 18 (67 percent).

-Roy was 11 for 19 (58 percent).

-Jordan Leopold led the game with five blocked shots.

-Fire Ray Shero.

-Brooks Orpik led the Penguins with two.

-Marc-Andre Fleury recorded his 200th career win.

-Orpik recorded his 100th career point. He became the 84th player to record 100 points with the franchise.

-Dupuis recored his 300th career point.

-Malkin recorded the Penguins' first hat trick since Chris Kunitz had three goals in an 8-1 defeat of the Lightning, Jan. 5. It was Sidney Crosby's final game of the 2010-11 season.

-It was Malkin's seventh career hat trick. His last was came in an 4-2 win against the Thrashers, Nov. 13, 2010.

-Malkin recorded his 450th career point with his first goal.

-Tyler Kennedy (137) passed up Stu Barnes (136) for for 58th place on the franchise's all-time scoring list.

-Kunitz (119) passed up Orest Kindrachuk (118) for 67th place.

-Orpik (100) passed up Blair Chapman (99) for 84th place.

-Game summary.

-Event summary.

-Highlights: