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New Sabres division opponent breakdown: Pittsburgh Penguins

By Jacob LeBlanc

PITTSBURGH, PA - NOVEMBER 19: Marco Scandella #6 of the Buffalo Sabres attempts a shot as Patric Hornqvist #72 of the Pittsburgh Penguins defends during the first period in the game at PPG PAINTS Arena on November 19, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - NOVEMBER 19: Marco Scandella #6 of the Buffalo Sabres attempts a shot as Patric Hornqvist #72 of the Pittsburgh Penguins defends during the first period in the game at PPG PAINTS Arena on November 19, 2018 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) /
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To continue with the breakdown of the new East Division opponents for the Sabres, we take a look at the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The road to an East Division playoff birth doesn’t get any easier the more you look into it for the Buffalo Sabres. The Pittsburgh Penguins are another team that is a regular contender in the league and will prove to be a tough task for Buffalo this season.

The Penguins are coming off a third-place finish in the Metropolitan Division, only three points behind the first-place Washington Capitals. They had a 40-23-6 record last season. They currently have the third-best odds to win the East Division with odds of +500, according to sportsbettingdime.com.

On the offensive side of the puck, there is no reason to believe that the Penguins wouldn’t produce at a high level as they have in the past. Last year they averaged 3.20 goals per game, which was 10th in the league.

They could average more goals than that this year since they are back to full strength after having so many injuries last season. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust, and Kris Letang all missed time and they still had a top 10 goal scoring average. A healthy Pittsburgh team is very scary for the rest of the East Division.

The Penguins fought through injuries on the defense as well. But they still had above average defensive stats last year. They allowed 2.84 goals per game, which ranked 12th in the league. Pittsburgh also posted an 82.1% on the penalty kill, which slotted them in at eighth in the NHL.

The Penguins have made a handful of changes on the defensive side of the roster this offseason. They bought out Jack Johnson, but they brought in Michael Matheson and Cody Ceci. So the Penguins defensive pairs will look a little different than they did last season.

Perhaps the biggest change for the Penguins from last season into this one is the change of goaltenders. Pittsburgh traded two-time Stanley Cup winning goalie Matt Murray to the Ottawa Senators. Murray has struggled the last couple of seasons for the Penguins, including posting a career-low .899 save percentage (SV%) last season.

It looks like Tristan Jarry will be the new starting goalie in Pittsburgh now that Murray is gone. Jarry is coming off a great year, having a goals allowed average (GAA) of 2.43 and a .921 SV% in 31 starts. He also had three shutouts last season. If Jarry can keep up this production, he is a much better option for Pittsburgh than Murray would have been.

Sabres new division opponent breakdown: Washington Capitals. dark. Next

The Penguins are another tough team that the Sabres need to perform well against in order to have a shot at the playoffs. The Sabres have performed well recently in matchups with Pittsburgh, as they have won four of their last six games against the Penguins. The Sabres will definitely look to keep up their recent success against Pittsburgh this season.

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