![\"\"](\"https:\/\/platform.pensburgh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/123\/2026\/01\/sea.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0,0,100,100\")
<\/a>Not much impressive going on here, though long injury absences to McCann and Schwarz don\u2019t help the season total numbers. Not a lot of game-breaking forwards to be found, Seattle ranks just 25th in offense by averaging 2.74 goals\/game. No one under them is in a playoff position, tough to be good without having a potent offense in this league and Seattle\u2019s major problem is they don\u2019t have a lot of players that are going to consistently generate points.Eberle\u2019s name alone is enough to cause a chill up the back of a Pens\u2019 fan. Would you believe he only has 14 goals and 19 points in 35 career games against Pittsburgh? Certainly seems like more, and maybe that\u2019s because there is more. Playoff trauma (6G+3A in 10 games, including one goal in each of the four games in the 2019 series) is definitely a helping hand in his reputation.<\/p>\nKey to the game: Can the Pittsburgh defense have another good night?<\/p>\n
There are a lot of the small aspects that are tantalizing for the Penguins in this matchup. You could go with Pittsburgh\u2019s third ranked power play against Seattle\u2019s 32nd ranked penalty kill. Focus could go to Seattle ranking 32nd in 5v5 Corsi allowed while the Pens have been hovering in the lower top-10 for 5v5 expected goals and Corsi for as another potential turning point.<\/p>\n However, we\u2019re going to lean into the other direction, where the Kraken have been poor in their 5v5 process offensively (in addition to defensively, the advanced stat models are not very fond of Seattle\u2019s work to say the least). The Kraken have generated very little in terms of Corsi and Fenwick for shot attempts, they\u2019re last in total expected goal production and unimpressive in actual goals.<\/p>\n Match that up against a Pittsburgh team that has only allowed 23 total goals over their last 11 games (a 2.09 GAA that ranks tops in the NHL in this stretch) and that stands out as a weakness versus strength matchup that the visitors will need to keep going for best odds of success. The Penguins\u2019 franchise has never really been thought of as a defensive juggernaut – and perhaps they\u2019re even performing over their own abilities right now – but how long they can play a simple kind of road game and keep shots and goals down in the next week will be a topic to monitor. They\u2019ve been great in this area since Christmas, the results have followed to the tune of a 7-2-2 record.<\/p>\n Rickard Rakell – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust<\/p>\n Egor Chinakhov – Tommy Novak – Evgeni Malkin<\/p>\n Anthony Mantha – Ben Kindel – Justin Brazeau<\/p>\n Connor Dewar – Blake Lizotte – Noel Acciari<\/p>\n Brett Kulak \/ Kris Letang<\/p>\n Parker Wotherspoon \/ Jack St. Ivany<\/p>\n Ryan Shea \/ Connor Clifton<\/p>\n Goalies: Stuart Skinner and Arturs Silovs<\/p>\n Potential Scratches: Ryan Graves, Kevin Hayes<\/p>\n IR: Erik Karlsson, Filip Hallander, Caleb Jones, Rutger McGroarty<\/p>\n Karlsson participated in a non-contact jersey during yesterday\u2019s practice and is travelling with the team on this four-game road trip. The exact phrasing of his injury announcement (\u201cKarlsson is out with a lower-body injury and will be re-evaluated in two weeks.\u201d Pens PR<\/a>, January 13th) implied an ominous tone. He may well require that time or longer before he can return to the lineup but seeing him at least on skates so soon after the injury and going on this trip has to be an encouraging sign at this point.From the \u2018don\u2019t shoot the messenger\u2019 files: the Pittsburgh PK has killed off the last 18 shorthanded opportunities they\u2019ve faced, dating back five games now.Evgeni Malkin has six points in six games since his return from injury (2G+4A).Should the goalie rotation hold, with no reason to think that it wouldn\u2019t, the net would be Skinner\u2019s tonight.<\/p>\n Sidney Crosby is looking to move up the rankings on this road trip by passing Mario Lemieux in yet another category this season.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n