The Pittsburgh Penguins (28-14-11) hope to keep their January steamroll going. After climbing into second place and solidly into a playoff spot through their 13-2-2 run since Dec. 27, the Penguins go marching into February Monday against the Ottawa Senators (26-21-7) at PPG Paints Arena.
The puck drops just after 7 p.m. when Le’Aysia Williams/Chuck8301 Music perform the National Anthem.
The Penguins’ comedy became a drama Saturday as a comfortable 5-1 third period lead became a 6-5 win over the New York Rangers at PPG Paints Arena, as the Penguins needed to win a defensive zone faceoff with three seconds remaining to seal the win.
Anthony Mantha and Noel Acciari each scored a pair of goals. Rickard Rakell had one goal and one assist, while Connor Dewar and Blake Lizotte each had two assists.
Stuart Skinner’s stats took a beating in the final minutes of the game as the Rangers filled the net. Ultimately, Skinner stopped 15 of 20 shots, though there wasn’t a softy in the bunch.
The Penguins have won six in a row and have points in nine straight, setting season highs for both.
In the standings, the Penguins are solidly in second place in the Metro Division, leading the New York Islanders by two points, with two games in hand. The Penguins trail the first-place Carolina Hurricanes by seven points, but have two games in hand, making the potential difference only three points.
The Columbus Blue Jackets are the first team outside the playoffs, and trail the Penguins by six points, but the Penguins have one game in hand on them.
Ottawa is rejuvenated after a mid-season meltdown that saw them drop in the standings and be forced to deal with wild public rumors about their personal lives, and the personal life of goalie Linus Ullmark, who had taken a personal leave to deal with mental health issues.
Ullmark returned to the lineup for the first time Saturday and beat the New Jersey Devils.
Ottawa has won three in a row and is 6-2-2 in its last 10 games. They trail the Buffalo Sabres by seven points for the second wild-card position.
The short story on Ottawa’s current situation is desperation.
“They’re playing really good hockey right now. They’re a team that makes things difficult,” coach Dan Muse said. “They have numbers back. They do a good job on the defensive side, and then when they get the puck, they have some very dangerous players, both up front and on their back end, that you have to be aware of.”
How to Watch
TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh
Radio: 105.9 The X
Expected Penguins Lines
Expected Penguins Lines
Rickard Rakell-Sidney Crosby-Justin Brazeau
Egor Chinakhov-Tommy Novak-Evgeni Malkin
Rutger McGroarty-Ben Kindel-Anthony Mantha
Connor Dewar-Blake Lizotte-Noel Acciari
Defense
Parker Wotherspoon-Erik Karlsson
Brett Kulak-Connor Clifton
Ilya Solovyov-Ryan Shea
Goalie: Arturs Silovs, confirmed
Senators Lines
Drake Batherson-Tim Stützle-Claude Giroux
Brady Tkachuk-Dyla Cozens-Ridly Greig
Nick Cousins-Shane Pinto-Michael Amadio
Stephen Halliday-Lars Eller-Fabian Zetterlund
Defence
Jake Sanderson-Artem Zub
Thomas Chabot-Nick Jensen
Tyler Kleven-Jordan Spence
Goalie: Linus Ullmark, expected
Special Teams
Penguins’ power play: 27.2%, 3rd. Penguins penalty kill: 83.8%, 4th.
Rangers power play: 22.8%, 9th. Blackhawks penalty kill: 79.5%, 16th.
Special Teams
Penguins’ power play: 27.2%, 3rd. Penguins penalty kill: 83.8%, 4th.
Rangers power play: 22.8%, 9th. Blackhawks penalty kill: 79.5%, 16th.
Penguins Game Notes
The Penguins have points in 16 of their last 22 games versus Ottawa (10-6-6) dating back to March 23, 2017.
Monday is Bryan Rust’s final game of his three-game suspension for an illegal check to the head of Brock Boeser of the Vancouver Canucks.
Ben Kindel has a three-game goal streak.
Anthony Mantha scored two goals Saturday and recorded his fourth multi-point game in the last six games.
The Penguins have scored six goals in five of their last eight games.
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