No Time to Wallow; Penguins Game 59 vs. Oilers: Lines, Notes & How to Watch

The Pittsburgh Penguins might have had to make a quick sweep Saturday night to collect all the pieces of their souls scattered around the visiting locker room in Calgary.

There is little time to recover from an absolutely crushing loss, as the Penguins (27-23-8) had to travel to Edmonton to take on Connor McDavid and the surging Oilers on Sunday.

Edmonton (36-20-2) also will be playing in back-to-back games but is coming off a win at Seattle.

Game Time

The game starts a little after 9 p.m.

Penguins Preview

There already were plenty of candidates for the Penguins’ worst loss of the season, but Saturday’s 4-3 setback against the Flames probably tops them all now, considering the timing and the fallout.

They got the secondary scoring they needed, were getting another strong game from goaltender Tristan Jarry, dominated Calgary through two periods – and then blew a two-goal lead in the third, gave up a last-minute goal in regulation and lost ground in their long shot to make the playoffs as other contenders won.

“It’s hard to recover from,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said.

They sit nine points out of third place in the Metropolitan Division and 10 points out of a wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Penguins are 1-2-0 going into the final game of a western road trip that was seen as a huge test for their playoff hopes, as well as leading into Friday’s NHL trade deadline, so they will need to try to gather themselves, recover quickly and get past the Oilers just to salvage a .500 trip.

Read more:

Molinari: Flames’ Late-Game Comeback Torches Penguins 4-3

Kingerski: Silent Penguins Room: Players Devastated, Reality Setting in

Edmonton has pulled off what the Penguins have failed to do. The Oilers got off to a rotten start and were languishing deep in the standings before they righted the ship in a big way.

A resurgence after Kris Knoblauch took over as coach that included a 16-game winning streak has Edmonton in position to challenge for a high seed and a long playoff run. Their 2-1 win Saturday at Seattle pushed them ahead of defending Stanley Cup champion Vegas into second place in the Pacific Division.

Leon Draisaitl had a goal and an assist against the Kraken to reach 30 goals for the sixth straight season as Edmonton won its third straight game. McDavid had an assist Saturday and ranks third in the NHL with 95 points.

The Oilers are 10-2-1 in their past 13 games at Rogers Place.

Expected Penguins Lines

Drew O’Connor-Sidney Crosby-Rickard Rakell

Reilly Smith-Evgeni Malkin-Valtteri Puustinen

Jonathan Gruden-Lars Eller-Emil Bemstrom

Jansen Harkins-Noel Acciari-Jeff Carter

Defense

P.O Joseph-Kris Letang

Marcus Pettersson-Erik Karlsson

Ryan Graves-Chad Ruhwedel

Goalies

Alex Nedeljkovic

Tristan Jarry

Expected Oilers Lines

Leon Draisaitl-Connor McDavid-Zach Hyman

Evander Kane-Ryan Nugent-Hopkins/Mattias Janmark

Warren Foegele-Ryan McLeod-Corey Perry

Dylan Holloway-Derek Ryan-Connor Brown

Defense

Mattias Ekholm-Evan Bouchard

Darnell Nurse-Cody Ceci

Brett Kulak-Vincent Desharnais

Goalies

Calvin Pickard

Stuart Skinner

Penguins Special Teams

Penguins power play: 14.7%, 28th

Penguins penalty kill: 81.9%, 8th

Oilers power play: 27.3%, 3rd

Oilers penalty kill: 79.3%, 17th

Penguins Game Notes

This is the first of two meetings between the clubs. Edmonton visits the Penguins next Sunday.

The Penguins are 0-2-0 their past two games at Edmonton.

Evgeni Malkin has gone 13 games without a goal. He has six assists in that stretch, but no points in the past two games.

Malkin has 20 points (7 goals, 13 assists) in 19 career games against the Oilers, and a five-game point streak (2 goals, 3 assists) in Edmonton.

Jeff Carter has 38 points (23 goals, 15 assists) in 39 career games against the Oilers.

Erik Karlsson has 27 points (6 goals, 12 points) in 25 career games against Edmonton.

It is the 12th head-to-head matchup between the Penguins’ Sidney Crosby and the Oilers’ Connor McDavid, with the Penguins holding a 6-4-1 edge.

The Penguins continue to be without top-line wingers Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust because of injuries.

Reilly Smith is two points away from 500 for his career.

How to Watch

TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh

Radio: 105.9 FM The X