Penguins Game 77, Afternoon Delight; Lines, Notes & How to Watch Vs. Stars

DALLAS — The Pittsburgh Penguins (30-34-12) went stride for stride with the winners of 10 straight, St. Louis Blues Thursday. Saturday at American Airlines Center, they will face the Stanley Cup favorite Dallas Stars (50-21-4), who have won seven straight.

The puck drops just after 3 p.m. ET.

It’s a national TV game on ABC, too.

The Penguins held their own against St. Louis, except for a catastrophic implosion in the second period in which the Penguins’ defensemen inexplicably forgot how to play the position or to which team they were supposed to pass. St. Louis scored three goals in the period and another in the third for a 4-2 lead, but the Penguins fought back.

Sidney Crosby set up Rickard Rakell later in the third period, then the kids connected for a late tying goal. Rutger McGroarty stuffed a shot past St. Louis goalie Joel Hofer with 23.8 seconds remaining, Fellow rookie Ville Koivunen got the primary assist and the Penguins forced overtime.

However, a soft penalty call on defenseman Kris Letang provided enough space for St. Louis’s Robert Thomas to snap the game-winner for the 5-4 OT victory.

Bryan Rust and Connor Dewar scored the other Penguins goals.

Read More: Penguins Grades: A Problem that Can’t Be Fixed; Why the Rookies are Sparkling

Like St. Louis, Dallas has also been red-hot and gearing for a playoff run. Dallas has not only won seven in a row but is unbeaten in 10. Just like St. Louis, the last time Dallas lost was on March 14. Dallas smoked the Nashville Predators 5-1.

We’ll find out early this afternoon if Dallas coach Pete DeBoer starts his No. 1 goalie, Jake Oettinger, who has recently found his stride again, or backup- and former Penguins netminder- Casey DeSmith.

DeSmith has been very good this season, posting a .922 save percentage in 23 appearances.

Penguins center Evgeni Malkin will likely return to the lineup. He took a regular shift at practice Friday. The other Penguins’ injured players, Tommy Novak and P.O. Joseph, are not on this trip.

The Penguins also play Sunday in Chicago, so both goalies figure to get a start. Coach Mike Sullivan will announce his starter at 1 p.m. ET.

Penguins Lines

Rutger McGroaty-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust

Rickard Rakell-Evgeni Malkin-Ville Koivunen

Connor Dewar-Kevin Hayes-Philip Tomasino

Danton Heinen-Blake Lizotte-Noel Acciari

Defense

Matt Grzelcyk-Kris Letang

Conor Timmins-Erik Karlsson

Ryan Graves-Ryan Shea

Goalie: Tristan Jarry/Alex Nedeljkovic

Stars Lines

Jason Robertson-Roope Hintz-Mikko Rantanen

Mason Marchment-Matt Duchene-Mikael Granlund

Sam Steel-Wyatt Johnston-Mavrik Bourque

Evgenii Dadonov-Oscar Back-Colin Blackwell

Thomas Harley-Ilya Lyubushkin

Defense

Esa Lindell-Cody Ceci

Lian Bichsel-Matt Dumba

Goalie: Jake Oettinger/Casey DeSmith

Special Teams

Penguins power play: 24.6%, 9th. Penguins penalty kill: 77.8%, 17th.

Stars power play: 22.1%, 14th. Stars penalty kill: 84.9%, 1st.

Penguins Game Notes

The Penguins are on a four-game losing skid against Dallas. Prior to that, they had points in eight of nine games against them (6-1-2).

Erik Karlsson has scored 20 points (5-15-20) in 24 career games against Dallas.

Bryan Rust is one goal shy of his career high (28) set last season and one point shy of tying his career high (58) set in 2021-22. Rust has five goals in his last six games. He is also just one goal shy of 200 career goals.

Rutger McGroarty had a two-point night Thursday, with his first NHL goal and first NHL assist. Ville Koivunen’s assist was also his first NHL point.

Sidney Crosby is on an 11-game points streak.

How to Watch

TV: ABC

Radio: 105.9 The X