Penguins vs. Oilers, Game 57: Lines, Notes & How to Watch

Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan probably could fill a notebook — and maybe a hard drive — with all the things about which his players should be concerned when they play Edmonton tonight.

The Oilers, after all, are averaging a league-high 3.76 goals per game and have scored five or more goals 20 times in their first 58 games.

Their lineup is laced with outstanding talents, headlined by Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, who just happen to be 1-2 in the NHL scoring race.

And then there is Edmonton’s power play, which capitalizes on its chances at almost the same rate NBA teams convert free throws.

The Oilers have scored on 64 of 202 chances with the extra man, a success rate of 31.7 percent that is the highest in the league.

No team has scored more man-advantage goals than Edmonton, and only Florida and Ottawa have had more power plays.

All of which presumably has caught the attention of the Penguins, considering that their penalty-killers have allowed 14 goals in the past 15 games.

Every power play they let the Oilers have might well be tantamount to introducing another bullet to a game of Russian Roulette.

“You have to be disciplined,” Sidney Crosby said. “You don’t want to put yourself in a position to give them a lot of (man-advantage) looks. It’s dangerous.”

The Oilers usually are when they face the Penguins, who are 1-3-1 in their past five games against Edmonton.

The Penguins, of course, have worries beyond the Oilers’ quick-strike offense.

They have lost three games in a row, the past two at home, and have repeatedly failed to protect leads during the third period.

For better or worse, there is no single issue that’s been responsible for their problems in the latter stages of regulation. Which means there’s also no one solution they can turn to to restore their equilibrium.

“Sometimes, it’s just (making) simple plays,” Sullivan said. “Cutting your losses and using the glass and flipping the puck into the neutral zone, to not allow our opponents maybe an extra opportunity to get a scoring chance, or to pressure us. Or it’s responsibilities off a faceoff loss. It’s sensing danger when there’s a puck turnover. Line changes. There are so many details that go into it. It hasn’t been any one thing.”

Expected Pittsburgh Penguins Lines

Guentzel-Crosby-Rakell

Zucker-Malkin-Rust

McGinn-Carter-Kapanen

O’Connor-Blueger-Archibald

Defense

Dumoulin-Letang

Pettersson-Petry

Joseph-Ruhwedel

Goalie

Jarry

Expected Edmonton Oilers Lines, per PuckPedia.com

Hyman-McDavid-Draisaitl

Nugent-Hopkins-Desharnais-Yamamoto

Foegele-McLeod-Janmark

Shore-Ryan-Puljujarvi

Defense

Nurse-Ceci

Kulak-Barrie

Broberg-Bouchard

Goalies

Skinner

Campbell

Special Teams

Penguins power play: 42 for 195, 21.5%, 15th

Penguins penalty-kill: 35 for 180, 80.6%, 14th

Oilers power play: 64 for 202, 31.7%, 1st

Oilers penalty-kill: 51 for 204, 75%, 25th

Pittsburgh Penguins Game Notes

Tristan Jarry is 10-3-3, with a .930 save percentage, at PPG Paints Arena this season.

Pittsburgh Penguins center Jeff Carter has 23 goals and 15 assists in 38 career games versus Edmonton.

Evgeni Malkin has scored nine of his 21 goals on the power play.

The Penguins have been outscored, 65-58, in the third period.

The Oilers are 5-7-1 against teams from the Metropolitan Division, but beat the Penguins, 6-3, in Edmonton Oct. 24.

Edmonton is only 1-1-3 in its past five games, but 4-1-5 in its past 10 and 9-1-5 in the past 15.

Oilers forward Zach Hyman has eight goals, but only one assist, in 15 career games against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Despite having a handful of exceptional offensive talents, the Oilers are 0-4 in shootouts this season.

How to Watch

TV: AT&T SportsNet

Radio: 105.9 the X