Herausforderungen » il the playoff. Still, Pittsburgh knows

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Esa Ahmad and No. 15 West Virginia made sure there was no drop off in performance against an outmanned opponent after an emotional road win at Virginia.The Mountaineers were solid again on defense and Ahmad led another balanced scoring attack with 14 points as West Virginia stomped Western Carolina 90-37 on Wednesday night.West Virginia (7-1) didnt slow down after Saturdays close win at No. 14 Virginia. The Mountaineers forced 34 turnovers against Western Carolina, a week after setting a school record by forcing 40 against Manhattan.We couldnt come out here and lay an egg, Ahmad said.Truth is, Ahmad and West Virginia forward Elijah Macon said the Mountaineers were aiming to force 50 turnovers.Macon said that could come eventually.With this group, you never know what can happen, Macon said. We got 40. I think we can get 10 more out of that.The Mountaineers lead the nation in scoring margin (30.3), forced turnovers (25), steals per game (13) and turnover margin (14.7).West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said he didnt like his teams energy out of the gate, even though the Mountaineers scored the games first seven points and used a 16-0 run to build a 25-point lead midway through the first half.We didnt have a lot of bounce, Huggins said. I thought we were very sluggish to start with.Western Carolina (3-6) went scoreless over the final 7:39 and trailed 46-12 at halftime. By then, the Catamounts had 19 turnovers to far surpass their season average. And West Virginias pressure defense was just getting started. A 26-4 run by the Mountaineers followed early in the second half.Jevon Carter added 13 points, Macon had 11 and Teyvon Myers scored 10 for the Mountaineers, who had 21 steals.Western Carolinas Haboubacar Mutombo was limited to six points, six under his team-leading average.We didnt give them our best punch today, Western Carolina guard Elijah Pughsley said.BIG PICTUREWestern Carolina: The Catamounts simply couldnt match the onslaught of players off the bench for the Mountaineers. Western Carolina didnt help its own cause, shooting 26 percent from the field. Starting guard Devin Peterson didnt make the trip.The games really, really difficult when you cant score, Western Carolina coach Larry Hunter said. Somebodys got to put us on their back a little bit and say, `Im going to score.West Virginia: The game was an opportunity for Huggins to get his younger players some valuable playing time and to see whos ready for the start of the Big 12 schedule in three weeks. West Virginia had 13 players score and 12 who had at least 10 minutes of playing time; no one played more than 19 minutes.COACH HUGGSHuggins earned his 798th career coaching win. Hunter has 683 career wins and was inducted earlier this year into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame along with Huggins father, Charlie, who won three high school state championships as a coach.REBOUNDING HELPDespite the loss of its top two rebounders from last season, West Virginia has increased its output slightly to 40 per game this season, although its rebounding margin is down to 4.9 compared with 8.6 last season. Western Carolina managed to match West Virginia with 36 rebounds apiece.POLL IMPLICATIONSThe Mountaineers 53-point win could help them inch toward the Top 10 in the AP poll .UP NEXTWestern Carolina plays at UNC Asheville on Dec. 17. Its the final game in a seven-game road swing for the Catamounts.West Virginia plays VMI in Morgantown on Saturday. 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Any real chance at payback wont come until the playoff. Still, Pittsburgh knows its taut 3-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday night is a pretty good place to start laying the groundwork. "They are a very good defensive team," Penguins forward Brandon Sutter said. ZaDarius Smith Super Bowl Jersey . -- The goal posts lying flat on the field, Arizonas fans lingered on the field, congregating around the locker room entrance nearly 30 minutes after rushing out of the stands. BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Aside from missing top-line center Jack Eichel, the Buffalo Sabres will open the season without their two top offseason additions, forward Kyle Okposo and defenseman Dmitry Kulikov.Coach Dan Bylsma provided the update Thursday, before Buffalo hosts Montreal.Okposo is still nursing a sore knee after being hit by a puck in practice. Bylsma said theres a good chance he could play at Edmonton on Sunday, when the Sabres open a four-game road trip.KKulikov is scratched after hurting his back during a preseason game two weeks ago.ddddddddddddBuffalo signed Okposo to a six-year contract in free agency and acquired Kulikov in a trade with Florida in June.As for Eichel , Bylsma said the second-year star will miss weeks and not days after spraining his ankle in practice Wednesday. ' ' '