It was not a good Saturday for the Pittsburgh Penguins (30-15-13) as the team morphed from world beaters to the beaten, eventually losing their league-leading eighth shootout Saturday to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. However, the Penguins are back to work quickly as they host the Vegas Golden Knights (28-17-14) Sunday at PPG Paints Arena.
The puck drops just after 1 p.m., and Mr. Jeff Jimmerson croons the national anthem. However, it’s also a national TV game, so beware the delayed start.
It is also the Penguins’ third game without Sidney Crosby, who is out with a lower-body injury.
The Penguins were dominant in the first period Saturday. In the franchise’s history, they had never allowed fewer shots in the first period against New York than when they outshot them 10-2 in the first 20 minutes (stick tap to Penguins historian Bob Grove for the stat). Yet, the Penguins wilted in the next 40 minutes as passes that were on the tape became passes that were in skates or on New York sticks.
The Penguins had an early goal removed due to a goaltender interference challenge, which justifiably bewildered coach Dan Muse. That call changed the game, and even though the Penguins claimed a 2-0 lead, it gave New York just enough opportunity to stay in the game and eventually win in the shootout.
The Penguins fell to 1-8 in shootouts as goalie Stuart Skinner stopped one of the two shots he faced, but Penguins shooters (Anthony Mantha, Egor Chinakhov, Tommy Novak) failed to score.
Mantha and Ryan Shea scored for the Penguins in regulation. Skinner stopped 23 of 25 shots in the SO loss.
The Golden Knights had a statement win Wednesday, beating the LA Kings 6-4 on the road without five of their Olympic players. It was a gold medal performance, but they followed that up with a clunker on Friday, losing to the Washington Capitals 3-2 at T-Mobile Arena.
The loss caused coach Bruce Cassidy to dig into his team and secondary players, who “need to be better.”
Follow Vegas Hockey Now beat writer Hannah Kirkell (Hannah!) on X here.
The Penguins have a seven-point lead on the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are the first team out of the playoffs (based on winning percentage), and a four-point lead on the Washington Capitals, who have played four more games.
Since Stuart Skinner started in goal for the Penguins on Saturday, Arturs Silovs is the most likely starter on Sunday.
Adin Hill is the likely netminder for Vegas.
Also, the Penguins recalled forward Filip Hallander Friday following his conditioning assignment to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. However, Hallander remains on injured reserve.
How to Watch
TV: TNT
Radio: 105.9 The X
Expected Penguins Lines
Egor Chinakhov-Tommy Novak-Evgeni Malkin
Avery Hayes-Rickard Rakell-Bryan Rust
Anthony Mantha-Ben Kindel-Justin Brazeau
Connor Dewar-Blake Lizotte-Noel Acciari
Defense
Parker Wotherspoon-Erik Karlsson
Ryan Shea-Kris Letang
Ryan Graves-Ilya Solovyov
Goalie: Arturs Silovs, expected
Expected Golden Knights Lines
Ivan Barbashev-Jack Eichel-Mark Stone
Pavel Dorofeyev-Mitch Marner-Reilly Smith
Braeden Bowman-Tomas Hertl-Keegan Kolesar
Brandon Saad-Colton Sissons-Alexander Holtz
DEFENSEMEN
Jeremy Lauzon-Shea Theodore
Noah Hanifin-Rasmus Andersson
Brayden McNabb-Kaeden Korczak
Goalie: Adin Hill, unconfirmed
Special Teams
Penguins power play: 26.1%, 3rd. Penguins penalty kill: 84.1%, 2nd.
Golden Knights power play: 25.9 5th. Golden Knights penalty kill: 81.4%, 10th.
Penguins Game Notes
The Penguins have wins in six of their last nine games against Vegas (6-3-0), dating back to Jan. 7, 2020, and the Penguins have never lost a season series to Vegas since the VGK entered the league in the 2017-18 season.
The Penguins are 6-1-0 all-time against Vegas at PPG Paints Arena, which includes four-straight wins.
Egor Chinakhov has points in eight of his last 10 games (6-3-9).
Evgeni Malkin has 12 points (3-9-12) in 13 career games against the Golden
Knights.
The Penguins are 1-0-1 without Crosby, and are 15-3-4 since the NHL’s holiday break in December.
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Categorized:Penguins Pregame