The Penguins head into Tuesday night at PPG Paints Arena carrying plenty of baggage and not much margin for error. At 5-7-2, Pittsburgh has the second-worst winning percentage in the Eastern Conference, and another loss would leave the club at least six points back of a playoff spot. Standing in the way is a Vegas Golden Knights team that arrives at 9-5-2.
Puck drop is set for just after 7 p.m., with the Armstrong High School performing the National Anthem.
Oddly enough, the Penguins are not listed as favorites at home, but they are not getting treated like an underdog either. FanDuel has both teams at -110, and the researchers do like a couple of predictions.
Pittsburgh is trying to steady itself after another rough defensive showing Saturday, when it fell 5-4 to the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Center. The Penguins’ offense came from the top of the lineup, with Sidney Crosby and Erik Karlsson each finishing with a goal and two assists. Tommy Novak and Rickard Rakell also chipped in with a goal and an assist apiece.
The night belonged to rookie goalie Sergei Murashov in the wrong kind of way early on. He gave up a soft goal in the first period, then watched a defensive-zone turnover by Hendrix Lapierre turn into another Montreal score just 24 seconds later. Murashov settled in after that and delivered a strong third period to keep Pittsburgh alive, but Crosby’s extra-attacker goal with more than three minutes left was as close as the Penguins got to forcing overtime.
The lineup picture changed again at Monday’s practice, where both Evgeni Malkin and Kaedan Korczak landed on the injury list. Justin Brazeau is set to return after being recalled from his AHL conditioning assignment, giving the Penguins at least one fresh body back in the mix.
Vegas also comes in off a tight one, dropping a 3-2 shootout decision to the Boston Bruins on Monday. Mark Stone opened the scoring for the Golden Knights on the power play in the second period, Trevor Connelly tied it in the third, and Carter Hart stopped 25 shots before the game went to the shootout.
The Golden Knights had trailed 2-0 before Stone cut into the deficit by redirecting a rebound past Jeremy Swayman. Connelly later evened things up with a wraparound.
In goal Tuesday, Arturs Silovs is expected to start for the Penguins, while Adin Hill is expected for Vegas with Carter Hart dealing with a lower-body injury.
Pittsburgh’s projected forward groups have Tommy Novak centering Crosby and Rakell on the top line, followed by Andrei Kuzmenko with Ben Kindel and Egor Chinakhov, Ville Koivunen with Hendrix Lapierre and Justin Brazeau, and Connor Dewar with Blake Lizotte and Nick Robertson. On defense, Spencer Stastney is paired with Erik Karlsson, Sam Girard with Kaedan Korczak, and Declan Carlile with Kris Letang. Silovs is confirmed in net.
Vegas is expected to roll with Ivan Barbashev, Jack Eichel and Mark Stone on the top line, Trevor Connelly with William Karlsson and Mitch Marner, Brett Howden with Tomas Hertl and Braeden Bowman, and Jonas Rondbjerg with Nic Dowd and Marc Gatcomb. The blue line features Brayden McNabb with Shea Theodore, Jeremy Lauzon with Rasmus Andersson, and Noah Hanifin with Dylan Coghlan. Hill is expected to start.
Special teams could matter here. The Penguins’ power play sits at 21.1%, good for 16th, while their penalty kill is 85.7%, sixth in the league. Vegas brings a 27.3% power play, seventh overall, but its penalty kill has struggled at 69.4%, which ranks 26th.
The injury lists remain part of the story for both teams. Vegas is without Victor Olofsson, who is dealing with an undisclosed/lower-body injury and is on injured reserve, and Parker Wotherspoon, who has an upper-body injury and is also on injured reserve. Carter Hart is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
For Pittsburgh, Evgeni Malkin and Kaedan Korczak are day-to-day with lower-body injuries. Bryan Rust remains on injured reserve with a lower-body injury, Trevor van Riemsdyk is on injured reserve with a lower-body injury, and Elmer Soderblom is on injured reserve with an upper-body injury and is week-to-week.
Tuesday also brings a jersey debut, with the Penguins set to wear their Hometown Remix sweaters for the first time.
The matchup carries some recent history, too. Vegas beat Pittsburgh 6-2 at T-Mobile Arena on Oct. 17, but the Penguins have never lost a season series against the Golden Knights.
Crosby has been productive in this matchup, with 13 points (6-7-13) in 14 games against Vegas and seven points (2-5-7) in seven games against the Golden Knights at PPG Paints Arena. He is also tied with Marcel Dionne for the sixth-most points in NHL history at 1771.
Nick Robertson enters the night as the team’s plus-7 leader and has been plus or even in 12 of 14 games. Tommy Novak will also hit a milestone, playing in his 300th career game Tuesday.
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There is also a clear throwback element baked into the color scheme, with the blue shade nodding to the clubs earliest days. Pittsburgh fans will not have to wait long to see it in action, either, since the Penguins plan to wear the uniforms multiple times this season, starting with a Nov. 3 matchup against the Golden Knights. [Read more 🡒]