PITTSBURGH (AP) The Pittsburgh Penguins weren’t about to let Patric

PITTSBURGH (AP) The Pittsburgh Penguins weren’t about to let Patric Hornqvist get away.The two-time defending Stanley Cup champions signed the 31-year-old forward to a five-year extension Tuesday that runs through the 2022-23 season. The deal has an average annual value of $5.3 million.He was set to become a free agent this summer but didn’t hesitate on an extension once he was approached by general manager Jim Rutherford http://www.floridapanthersteamshops.com/authentic-vincent-trocheck-jersey , who rarely makes such a move in the middle of the year.”This is the city I want to be in and I’m really happy to stay here five more years,” Hornqvist said. ”We always have a chance to win and we have a great core group in here, so that was obviously the key situation for me, too.”Hornqvist has been a vital part of Pittsburgh’s title runs. He scored the series-clinching goal in Game 6 of the 2017 Stanley Cup finals against Nashville.”He’s been such a big part of this team and what it’s been able to accomplish the last couple seasons,” coach Mike Sullivan said. ”He brings so much energy and he’s a positive guy. He brings a dimension to our dressing room that is unique.”To the ice as well.Hornqvist plays a physical game, often putting his body in front of the net to grab loose pucks or create room for Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel. Hornqvist has 17 goals and 15 assists for the Penguins this season entering Tuesday night’s game against New Jersey. He was acquired in a 2014 trade with the Predators and has 85 goals and 93 assists with the Penguins.Hornqvist said he’s glad the process is over so he can focus on hockey. The Penguins began Tuesday in third place in the tight Metropolitan Division. The signing also means a core that includes Hornqvist Adrian Kempe Jersey , Crosby and Malkin is under contract well into the next decade.”I think we have something great here,” Hornqvist said. ”Just have to go out here and prove it.”NOTES: Center Derick Brassard, acquired in a deal with Ottawa last week, skated with the team Tuesday morning and is scheduled to play against the Devils. … goalie Matt Murray is out indefinitely with a concussion after taking a puck to the helmet in practice Monday.— BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Jack Eichel’s absence didn’t prevent Buffalo’s top line from carrying the load again.Jeff Skinner scored twice, including his team-leading 28th goal, and Sam Reinhart had a goal and an assist for the Sabres in a 4-3 win over the Florida Panthers on Thursday night.“It’s great to see that Skinner scores. At this point in the season http://www.kingsproshop.com/authentic-alex-iafallo-jersey , that’s the way it’s going to go to win a one-goal game,” Buffalo coach Phil Housley said. “We’ve lost some one-goal games in the past and it’s going to be tight. It’s going to be a great test for us.”Buffalo snapped an 0-2-1 skid while overcoming the loss of Eichel, who missed his first game since sustaining an upper-body injury in a 3-1 loss to the New York Islanders on Monday. Without disclosing the nature of the injury, Housley listed Eichel as day to day while also saying the captain will not play in Buffalo’s next game at Boston on Saturday.Eichel’s absence placed even more pressure on a team that’s spent much of this season relying on its top line, which entered the night having accounted for 49 of Buffalo’s 115 goals.Skinner and Reinhart delivered in a game the Sabres never trailed. They beat Florida for the first time since March 27, 2017, to snap an 0-6-1 skid against the Panthers.Buffalo also improved to 5-7-4 since its 10-game winning streak Womens Anze Kopitar Jersey , which equaled a franchise record.“I don’t think we’re sort of a fragile group,” Skinner said, referring to the Sabres’ slump. “I think we did a good job of responding like that as a team.”Tage Thompson also scored for Buffalo, and Linus Ullmark stopped 35 shots to win his fourth consecutive start.Alexander Barkov had a goal and an assist for the Panthers, who lost for just the third time in nine games. Mike Hoffman and Frank Vatrano also scored.Roberto Luongo gave up two goals on the first four shots he faced and finished with 29 saves.A slow start cost the Panthers three days after they overcame a 3-0 first-period deficit in a 4-3 shootout win at Detroit.“The difference was they came out stronger than us in the first period,” Hoffman said. “It’s not easy to point a finger at exactly what it is. Obviously, we’ve got to take a little more responsibility in this room.”Skinner opened the scoring 4:42 into the game. And he sealed the win by putting Buffalo up 4-2 with 3:46 left Authentic Derek Forbort Jersey Kids , just less than three minutes after Hoffman scored a power-play goal.Skinner scored by collecting a loose puck in his own zone, driving up the left wing and snapping a shot that sneaked in under Luongo’s right arm.With Buffalo up 2-1, Reinhart also provided a lift for the Sabres by deflecting in Lawrence Pilut’s shot 1:20 into the third period.The game featured several shifts in momentum, with each team scoring disputed goals.Vatrano cut Buffalo’s lead to 2-1 by scoring on a 2-on-1 break in which he was allowed to break free out of his own zone only after Florida’s Keith Yandle knocked over Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin, who was two steps away from playing the puck.Housley said officials informed him they considered Yandle’s hit to be incidental contact.The Panthers were unhappy with Reinhart’s goal, arguing he deflected it in with a high stick.“I didn’t really know. You can’t see a lot on the monitors on the bench,” Florida coach Bob Boughner said. “We were relying on the league to review it Youth Dion Phaneuf Jersey , so I guess they obviously must have.”Buffalo had a goal disallowed 42 seconds later, when officials ruled Sabres forward Kyle Okposo interfered with Luongo before Marco Scandella snapped in a shot from inside the blue line.NOTES: Reinhart set a career best with his 31st assist of the season on Skinner’s first goal. … Evan Rodrigues took Eichel’s spot in centering Buffalo’s first line. … Florida D Chris Wideman was scratched after practicing with the team Wednesday for the first time since being acquired by the Panthers in a trade with Edmonton on Sunday.UP NEXTPanthers: Host Columbus on Saturday.Sabres: At Boston on Saturday.