Penguins Game 66, New Chances; Lines, Notes & How to Watch

ST. PAUL, Minn. — It’s a new day and new chances for new players wearing a Pittsburgh Penguins (24-31-10) sweater. Sunday, the Penguins face the Minnesota Wild (36-23-4) at Xcel Energy Center.

The puck drops just after 3:30 p.m. EST.

The big picture for this Penguins team is not pleasant. The team has the second-worst goal differential in the league (-57) and the fifth-worst record. With a win on Saturday, the Seattle Kraken passed the Penguins, improving the Penguins’ draft spot to fifth overall.

The Penguins were hammered by the Vegas Golden Knights Friday at T-Mobile Arena. Beyond the Penguins’ top line, the new lineup was little threat to score, and Vegas was able to add goals until the Penguins buckled early in the third period.

Read More: Penguins Grades: Internal Frustration and Imbalance

Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 23 of 27 shots, while Ilya Samsonov earned the shutout win with 22 saves.

If Tristan Jarry doesn’t start Sunday, we may learn a good bit about his future with the organization. Nedeljkovic had a tough game against Vegas.

Minnesota has held firm as the top wild-card spot in the Western Conference, six points ahead of the second wild-card Calgary Flames and seven points ahead of the first team out of the playoffs, the Vancouver Canucks.

It’s unknown if Marc-Andre Fleury will start in goal for Minnesota, but it would be his final game against the Penguins. Fleury was the Penguins’ first round-pick (first overall) in 2003 and spent 14 years in the organization before the Vegas Golden Knights selected him in the 2017 Expansion Draft.

Regardless of whether or not Fleury plays, Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is prepared to face his friend for the final time and for the finale of their prank wars.

Where does time go?

Notes: The team returned Jack St. Ivany to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. St. Ivany was an emergency call-up and was in Vegas Friday.

There remains no timetable for the return of defenseman P.O Joseph.

Expected Penguins Lines

Rickard Rakell-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust

Tommy Novak-Evgeni Malkin-Emil Bemstrom

Connor Dewar-Kevin Hayes-Philip Tomasino

Boko Imama-Blake Lizotte-Noel Acciari

Defense

Ryan Shea-Kris Letang

Matt Grzelcyk-Erik Karlsson

Valdislav Kolyachonok-Conor Timmins

Goalie: Tristan Jarry/Alex Nedeljkovic

Wild Lines

Marcus Johansson-Frederick Gaudreau-Mats Zuccarello

Gustav Nyquist-Ryan Hartman-Matt Boldy

Marcus Foligno-Marco Rossi-Vinnie Hinostroza

Yakov Trenin-Devin Shore-Justin Brazeau

Defense

Jacob Middleton-Brock Faber

Declan Chisholm-Jared Spurgeon

Jon Merrill-Zach Bogosian

Goalie: Marc-Andre Fleury, Filip Gustavsson

Special Teams

Penguins power play: 23.9%, 9th. Penguins penalty kill: 78.7%, 17th.

Wild power play: 20.3% 20th. Wild penalty kill: 70.2%, 31st.

Penguins Game Notes

The Penguins have registered points in 10 of their last 12 games versus the Wild (9-2-1) and have won four of their last five games at Xcel Energy Center against the Wild since Dec. 31, 2018.

Evgeni Malkin has had a hot hand against the Wild in his career, with 11 goals and 15 assists in 21 career games.

Newly acquired Tommy Novak, a native of St. Paul, Minnesota, has six points (1-5-6) in nine career games against his hometown team.

Rickard Rakell has goals in three of his last four games (4G) and is one goal shy of his third 30-goal campaign.

The game will mark the Penguins debuts of defenseman Conor Timmins and forward Connor Dewar, both acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday.

How to Watch

TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh, TNT; Radio: 105.9 The X