Penguins Notebook
Penguins vs Jets: Line Combos and News
The last time the Penguins faced off against the Winnipeg Jets, Sidney Crosby got his 1000th career point! So far this season, the Winnipeg Jets have been mostly quiet. In fact, not one fighting major has been handed out yet. In contrast, last season’s games with the Winnipeg Jets were very chaotic affairs. For a review from my personal hockey blog (Hockey Agenda), click here.
Quick note, Ryan Reaves is from Winnipeg.
These were the lines at practice, yesterday, so the Penguins will most likely go with this forward lineup tonight. Kris Letang took a maintenance day, yesterday, but was on the ice this morning. it will change the defensive pairings. Sergei Gonchar is not expected to play. I wish…
#Pens defensive pairs:
Cole-Ruhwedel
Maatta-Trotman
Dumoulin paired with Gonchar
–Schultz, Hunwick & Letang not skating— Josh Getzoff (@PensJG) October 25, 2017
#Pens forward lines are the same:
Guentzel-Crosby-Sheary
Rust-Malkin-Kessel
Hagelin-Sheahan-Hornqvist
Kuhnhackl-McKegg-Reaves
-MC— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) October 25, 2017
Injury Report:
Justin Schultz is out with a concussion. Today, the Penguins recalled Frank Corrado. This will most likely mean that Zach Trotman will be on the third pairing on defense tonight. Frank Corrado most likely will be the 7th defenseman for depth. Matt Hunwick and Carter Rowney remain out.
Coach Sullivan on Rowney’s hand: “He has a fractured hand and will be out longer-term. It will be a minimum of four weeks.”
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 25, 2017
Coach Sullivan confirms that today was a maintenance day for Letang, and that Hunwick and Rowney skated this morning prior to practice.
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 25, 2017
Call Up:
With Schultz and Hunwick on IR, and Zach Trotman already in Pittsburgh, the Penguins called up defenseman Frank Corrado. Corrado, 24, was acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs last season for Eric Fehr. Corrado played two games for the Penguins late last season. He was scoreless with a -1 rating. He is an offensive defenseman who struggled to find his footing in the Toronto organization (think Derrick Pouliot), but has a lot of offensive upside.
WPG J-E-T-S!
Here’s a quick look at to expect from the Winnipeg Jets:
Nikolaj Ehlers is their most potent offensive threat. He posted his second career hat trick against the Edmonton Oilers on October 9th, in a blow-out 5-2 victory. Going into tonight, he has eight points in seven games (6g, 2a).
Tonight, Matt Hendricks is expected to make his Jets debut. The veteran center will be holding down the fourth line. He was activated off injured reserve, yesterday.
The Winnipeg Jets lines will look something like this:
Kyle Connor – Mark Scheifele – Blake Wheeler
Nikolaj Ehlers – Bryan Little – Patrik Laine
Brandon Tanev – Andrew Copp – Shawn Matthias
Brendan Lemieux – Matt Hendricks – Joel Armia
Defense:
Josh Morrissey – Jacob Trouba
Tobias Enstrom – Dustin Byfuglien
Dmitry Kulikov – Tyler Myers
In goal:
Connor Hellebuyck (4-0-0. .928 save %. 2.32 GAA).