Entering Thursday, the Buffalo Sabres ranked seventh in the NHL with 165 points from their defensemen this season.

Buffalo’s blueliners had their names all over the scoresheet and increased that total to 172 as the Sabres beat Penguins 7-3 at KeyBank Center.

The blowout extended Buffalo’s winning streak to three games, and the Sabres are now 10-2 with 4.1 goals scored per game in their last 12 at home.

Thursday’s onslaught started quickly. Just 27 seconds into the game, Tage Thompson held the puck on a 2-on-1 rush, dragged around Matt Grzelcyk into the slot and beat Tristan Jarry blocker side. The rush began at Buffalo’s end boards, where Rasmus Dahlin floated a backhand clearing attempt that found Zach Benson at the offensive blue line.

“Fortunate to get one right away – that gets them on their heels a little bit,” said Thompson, whose 36 goals are tied for fourth most in the league. “I thought we were playing fast all night. I thought our D were moving the puck up, our forwards were pushing on to the neutral zone and (we) got a lot of odd-man rushes out of it.”

Peyton Krebs doubled the Sabres’ lead four minutes later. Dahlin’s puck handling scattered the Penguins’ defense up high and created space for Connor Clifton to carry it down low. Clifton’s centering pass deflected off Alex Tuch, then Krebs’ stick, and into the open cage. That marks two assists in the last three games for Clifton, who’s up to 11 this season.