Penguins

(UPDATED) Penguins Game 19, Wins Needed; Lines, Notes, & How to Watch vs. Blue Jackets

Published

3 weeks ago

November 15, 2024

Pittsburgh Penguins game, Columbus Blue Jackets

The situation is getting serious. The Pittsburgh Penguins (6-9-3) have just one win in their last five games, and NHL trade rumors have begun after the team traded Lars Eller. The struggling Penguins have one road game amidst an eight-game homestand, and that roadie is Friday as the Penguins visit the Columbus Blue Jackets (5-8-2) at Nationwide Arena.

The puck drops just after 7 p.m.

Update: The Penguins recalled Matt Nieto from his conditioning assignment and appears to be in the lineup. The team will need to activate him from the long-term injured reserve list, but they have ample salary cap space to do so. The team also called up top defenseman prospect Owen Pickering.

The Penguins overcame an apprehensive start and a 2-0 deficit to force overtime. However, they couldn’t finish the comeback and lost 3-2 in overtime to the Detroit Red Wings. Bryan Rust and Anthony Beauvillier scored the Penguins goals. Goalie Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 28 of 31 shots.

The Penguins made a few transactions Thursday. They re-assigned goalie Joel Blomqvsist to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, recalled Matt Nieto from his conditioning assignment, and recalled prospect Vasily Ponomarev.

Columbus is one of three teams in the Eastern Conference below the Penguins. They’re winless in six games (0-5-1) and lost all four games on their West Coast road trip. Tuesday, they lost 5-2 to the Seattle Kraken.

Kirill Marchenko leads the team in scoring with six goals and nine assists.

Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry is the possible starter. It would be his first NHL start since Oct. 16, when he was pulled in the first period against the Buffalo Sabres. He completed a 14-day conditioning assignment in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Jarry has just an .836 save percentage at the NHL level this season.

Penguins forward Blake Lizotte may not be available, so the lines won’t be known until the morning skate. Since the Penguins did not practice Thursday, it will likely be a full skate.

Penguins Lines

Anthony Beauvillier-Sidney Crosby-Rickard Rakell

Michael Bunting-Evgeni Malkin-Bryan Rust

Jesse Puljujarvi-Drew O’Connor-Sam Poulin

Matt Nieto-Noel Acciari-Valtteri Puustinen

Defense

Matt Grzelcyk-Kris Letang

Marcus Pettersson-Erik Karlsson

Ryan Graves-Jack St. Ivany

Goalies: Tristan Jarry

Alex Nedeljkovic

Blue Jackets Lines

Dmitri Voronkov-Sean Monahan-Kirill Marchenko

Cole Sillinger-Adam Fantilli-Yegor Chinakhov

Mikael Pyythia-Justin Danforth-Mathieu Olivier

Zach Aston-Reese–Sean Kuraly–Kevin Lebanc

Defense

Zach Werenski-Dante Fabbro

Ivan Provorov-Damon Severson

Jake Christiansen-Jordan Harris

Goalies: Elvis Merzlikins

Daniil Tarasov

Special Teams

Penguins power play: 18.4%, 19th. Penguins penalty kill: 82.4%, 11th.

Blue Jackets power play: 18.4%, 18th. Blue Jackets penalty kill: 81.4%, 14th.

Penguins Games Notes

*Sidney Crosby remains two goals shy of 600 career goals.

*The Penguins have points in 13-straight games (11-0-2) against the Blue Jackets dating back to Dec. 12, 2019, and 21-3-3 in its last 27 games against Columbus dating back to Feb. 3, 2017.

*Tristan Jarry is 8-1-1 in his career versus Columbus with a 2.39 goals-against average and a .922 save percentage.

*Evgeni Malkin is tied for third in the NHL with 14 points (4-10-14) on the road.

*Anthony Beauvillier has matched his 2023-24 goal total that he had in 60 games split between Vancouver (2), Chicago (2) and Nashville (1).