Just one day after soundly beating one playoff rival on the road, the Pittsburgh Penguins (37-21-16) get little time to enjoy the feeling as they host wild card pursuer, the Detroit Red Wings at PPG Paints Arena.
The puck drops just after 7 p.m. when the South Side District Choir performs the national anthem.
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The Penguins have just eight games to go, and the playoff situation remains extraordinarily tight. The Penguins’ 8-3 win over the New York Islanders Monday pushed them back into second place in the Metro Division, one point ahead of the Islanders with one game in hand.
The Penguins lead the second wild card, the Columbus Blue Jackets, by two points. They also lead Detroit and the Ottawa Senators, who are the first teams outside the playoffs, by four points, but each has one game in hand on the Penguins.
As they fight for a top-three spot in the Metro Division and try to stay ahead of the wild card teams for good measure, the Penguins’ win Monday pushed their playoff odds to 83.9%, per MoneyPuck.com.
Monday, the Penguins scored seven unanswered goals to punish the New York Islanders, 8-3. The Penguins twice trailed by two goals in the second period, but overcame a 3-1 deficit beginning with Rickard Rakell’s shorthanded goal midway through the period.
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The Penguins players and coach Dan Muse made special note of Rakell’s first career shorthanded goal as the moment everything clicked. By the end of the second period, the Penguins scored four unanswered and then three more in the third period as they didn’t ease up.
Anthony Manta scored a pair of beauts, the first of which became the game winner. Rakell had a pair of goals. Defenseman Ryan Shea tied the game 3-3 with a heavy shot from the left circle. Elmer Soderblom scored the first goal, Avery Hayes tallied the seventh, and Bryan Rust capped the goal parade later in the third period.
Penguins goalie Arturs Silovs was a little bit shaky, but the team allowed just eight shots on goal after falling behind 3-1 midway through the second period. Silovs stopped 19 of 22 in the win.
Detroit is trying to erase the second longest playoff drought in the NHL by catching Columbus for the second wild card spot, but has lost three of its last four games. Detroit has missed the playoffs for nine seasons running. Saturday, they lost to the Philadelphia Flyers 5-3, making their challenge even greater.
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According to MoneyPuck, they have just a 35% chance of earning a postseason berth.
Since Silovs played Monday, Stuart Skinner will start in goal for the Penguins. He has started three of the last four games. Despite some stellar performances, Skinner’s save percentage has dropped to .888. John Gibson is the likely starter for Detroit.
How to Watch
The Penguins game will be streamed Tuesday.
TV: SNP+
Radio: 105.9 The X
Penguins Lines
Egor Chinakhov-Sidney Crosby Bryan Rust
Anthony Mantha-Rickard Rakell-Justin Brazeau
Tommy Novak–Ben Kindel-Avery Hayes
Elmer Soderblom-Connor Dewar-Noel Acciari
Defense
Parker Wotherspoon-Erik Karlsson
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Sam Girard-Kris Letang
Ryan Shea-Connor Clifton
Goalie: Stuart Skinner
Red Wings Lines
Alex DeBrincat-Andrew Copp-Patrick Kane
J.T. Compher -Dylan Larkin-Lucas Raymond
Andrew Copp-Emmitt Finnie-Mason Appleton
Marco Kasper-Emmitt Finnie-James van Riemsdyk
Defense Pairings
Simon Edvinsson-Moritz Seider
Ben Chiarot-Justin Faulk
Albert Johansson-Jacob Bernard-Docker
Goalie: John Gibson, expected
Special Teams
Penguins’ power play: 24.3%, 7th. Penguins penalty kill: 81.8%, 5th.
Red Wings power play: 21.9%, 14th. Red Wings penalty kill: 77.4%, 23rd.
Penguins Game Notes
It has been a lopsided rivalry. The Penguins have points in 15 of their last 18 games against Detroit (12-3-3). They’ve scored four or more goals in 13 of those 18, and have an active 11-game home points streak (8-0-3) against Detroit.
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The Penguins will conclude their 14th set of back-to-back games. Thus far, the team is 11-8-8 (6-4-4 on the first night and 5-4-4 on the second night).
Rickard Rakell has points in 12 of his last 13 games (8-9-17) and is currently on a four-game point streak (5-2-7).
Parker Wotherspoon has nine assists (0-9-9) in his last nine games.
Sidney Crosby notched his 1100th career assist on Monday. He is two points short of tying Steve Yzerman for seventh-place in all-time NHL scoring (1755), and for second place all-time for points with one team.
The post Penguins Game 75, Playoff Battle 2; Lines, Notes, & How to Watch vs. Red Wings appeared first on Pittsburgh Hockey Now.
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