Buffalo Sabres at Pittsburgh Penguins

Strong 3rd period pushes Penguins past Sabres, 4-2

Hayes tapped in Erik Karlsson’s pass from the top of the crease with 7:26 remaining to give Pittsburgh a 3-1 lead. Jack Quinn trimmed the deficit for Buffalo with 4:18 left, and Connor Dewar had an empty-net goal for Pittsburgh in the final minute.

Mathew Dumba also scored for Pittsburgh. The Penguins have won just three of last 10 games since an 8-2-2 start.

Karlsson had an assist to tie Brad Park for the 12th-most assists by a defenseman in NHL history with 683.

Tristan Jarry stopped 29 shots for Pittsburgh. Jarry returned after missing the last seven games with a lower-body injury.

Jason Zucker also scored for Buffalo.

Tage Thompson’s six-game goal scoring streak ended for Buffalo, which is 5-6-4 in its last 15 games. The Sabres are 1-6-2 on the road. In all of their road losses, the Sabres were tied or within a goal during the third period.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 15 saves.

Zucker briefly tied it at 1 at 7:20 of the third period, but Rust helped Pittsburgh regain the lead 29 seconds later. Rust’s initial try was blocked, he picked up the rebound, skated across the slot and put a shot between Luukkonen’s pads.

Up next Sabres: Host New Jersey on Friday.

Penguins: At Columbus on Friday night.

PIT leads series 1-0