MONTREAL - The Penguins arrive at the Bell Centre with a little momentum and a fresh sting still hanging around from Thursday night.
Pittsburgh has won two straight and is unbeaten in three, but the finish against Utah Mammoth was brutal. The Penguins tied it late, grabbed the lead with 24 seconds left, and still walked away empty after Utah scored with one second remaining before winning in overtime.
Rickard Rakell started the late push by ripping a wrister over Sebastian Cossa to even things in the third period. Then Ben Kindel poked in a rebound to put Pittsburgh ahead. But the defensive-zone coverage broke down in the final seconds, Logan Cooley swatted a fluttering puck past Arturs Silovs, and Mikhail Sergachev finished the job in OT.
Silovs was busy all night and made several big stops, even if the final line only shows 30 saves on 34 shots. He is expected to get the start again Saturday, with rookie Sergei Murashov waiting for his next turn.
Montreal comes in rolling, too. The Canadiens have won four in a row after a 5-2 victory over Dallas on Thursday, and Jakub Dobes has taken hold of the net.
He stopped 17 of 19 shots against the Stars, while Cole Caufield and Alex Newhook each scored twice. Phillip Danault added the empty-net goal to close it out.
Caufield opened the scoring, then struck again late in the first period after Newhook had given Montreal another lead. Newhook added his second goal early in the second, and the Canadiens controlled things from there.
The puck drops just after 7 p.m. after a pair of national anthems and a few of the famous concession stand hot dogs.
TV coverage is on SportsNet Pittsburgh, Sportsnet and TVA, with radio on 105.9 The X.
Pittsburgh’s lineup has Tommy Novak centering Sidney Crosby and Rakell, with Egor Chinakhov between Ben Kindel and Evgeni Malkin. Andrei Kuzmenko joins Hendrix Lapierre and Ville Koivunen, while Connor Dewar skates with Blake Lizotte and Nick Robertson.
On defense, the Penguins are set with Spencer Stastney and Erik Karlsson, Sam Girard and Kaeden Korczak, and Declan Carlile with Kris Letang.
Montreal counters with Cole Caufield, Newhook and Juraj Slafkovský on the top line, followed by Chris Kreider, Oliver Kapanen and Josh Anderson. Zack Bolduc centers Phillip Danault and Alexandre Texier, while Florian Xhekaj, Jake Evans and Kirby Dach make up the fourth line.
The Canadiens’ defense pairs Lane Hutson with Noah Dobson, Kaiden Guhle with Alexandre Carrier, and Arber Xhekaj with Adam Engström. Dobes is expected in goal.
Special teams tilt in different directions for each club. Pittsburgh’s power play is at 20.0 percent, tied for 17th, while its penalty kill sits at 84.4 percent, eighth in the league. Montreal’s power play is last at 10.3 percent, but its penalty kill is 11th at 82.7 percent.
The Penguins are also dealing with a few absences. Justin Brazeau has missed 13 games with a lower-body injury and is on a conditioning assignment in the AHL.
Defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk has missed eight games with a lower-body injury. Bryan Rust has been out three games with a lower-body injury, and Elmer Soderblom has missed one with an upper-body injury.
There is also a strong recent history for Pittsburgh in this matchup. The Penguins have won eight of their last 10 games against Montreal dating back to Dec.
13, 2023. At the Bell Centre, they have points in 11 of their last 12 games dating back to Jan.
18, 2017.
Rakell has been especially productive against the Canadiens, with 21 points in 23 career games against Montreal, including 14 points over his last 10. His 0.91 points per game against the Canadiens is his second-best mark against any opponent. He also has three goals in his last four games.
Hendrix Lapierre has three assists in four career games against Montreal.
And Erik Karlsson enters with 949 career points, sitting one shy of the top 10 all-time among NHL defensemen. He trails Brent Burns by one and is nine behind Larry Robinson for ninth.
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Muses comments fit a larger pattern for a club that has not been able to string together reliable defensive performances, even as the standings continue to tighten. The Penguins have been trying to keep pace in a division where every point matters, but the recurring problems around their net are making the margin for error awfully small, and the next stretch will say plenty about whether these are fixable habits or a more stubborn issue. [Read more 🡒]