Penguins
Penguins Game 26, Building Wins; Lines, Notes, & How to Watch vs. Flames
The Pittsburgh Penguins (9-12-4) are equidistant between the bottom of the Eastern Conference and the second wild card. They are three points from both after back-to-back wins in very different fashions. They’ll face the Calgary Flames (12-8-4), who have bucked the rebuilding trend forecasted for the rodeo town and are instead looking to buy on the NHL trade block.
The puck drops just after 7 p.m. at PPG Paints Arena.
The Penguins overcame an early defensive gaffe and rallied to outplay, outlast, and outduel the Boston Bruins Friday at TD Garden. The Penguins allowed a goal on the second shot of the game when defensemen Ryan Shea and Jack St. Ivany each missed assignments, leaving Charlie Coyle uncovered in the slot for an easy goal.
From there, the Penguins buckled down and outplayed Boston. According to NaturalStatTrick.com, the Penguins had nine high-danger scoring chances in the first two periods but allowed only two. The Penguins held structure in the third period and maintained an even level of pressure en route to a season-affirming 2-1 win.
Read More: Penguins Report Card: ‘Looking Like Team We Want to Be’ … Finally
Philip Tomasino, who was acquired via trade this week, scored the game-winner. It was his first goal of the season.
“I think there’s a lot to like about (our performance),” said coach Mike Sullivan. “We’re in a one-goal hockey game–I thought we defended hard. I thought we were above the puck most of the night and did a pretty good job controlling territory.”
The Flames are winless in their last three (0-2-1), losing to the Columbus Blue Jackets in an emotional and wild game Friday. Both teams honored Johnny Gaudreau and their family, as Gaudreau played for both. Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were tragically killed by an allegedly drunk driver in August as they rode their bicycles on a rural New Jersey road.
Columbus beat Calgary 5-2 as referees assessed each team with three fighting majors in the second period.
Alex Nedeljkovic will most likely start for the Penguins, but rookie defenseman Owen Pickering remained out of the lineup due to illness Friday and didn’t travel with the team. His status for Saturday would appear doubtful.
Penguins Lines
Rickard Rakell-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust
Drew O’Connor-Evgeni Malkin-Philip Tomasino
Michael Bunting-Blake Lizotte-Anthony Beauvillier
Matt Nieto-Noel Acciari-Kevin Hayes
Defense
Matt Grzelcyk-Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson-Erik Karlsson
Ryan Shea-Jack St. Ivany
Goalies: Alex Nedeljkovic
Flames Lines
Jonathan Huberdeau-Connor Zary-Blake Coleman
Yegor Sharangovich-Mikael Backlund-Matt Coronato
Martin Pospisil-Nazem Kadri-Andrei Kuzmenko
Ryan Lomberg-Kevin Rooney-Justin Kirkland
Defense
Kevin Bahl-Rasmus Anderssson
Mackenzie Weegar-Daniil Miromanov
Joel Hanley-Brayden Pachel
Goalie: Dan Vladar
Special Teams
Penguins power play: 20.3%, 15th. Penguins penalty kill: 79.7%, 15th.
Flames power play: 20.6%, 13th. Flames penalty kill: 73%, 28th.
Penguins Game Notes
It’s been an even series against Calgary. The Penguins have points in 10 of their last 15 games vs. the Flames (6-5-4).
Tonight concludes the sixth set of back-to-back games for the Penguins. The team is 4-7-0 in back-to-backs, which includes a 3-2-0 record in the second game.
The Penguins have points in seven of nine games when Blake Lizotte is in the lineup (5-2-2).
Sidney Crosby has 27 points (13-14-27) in 22 career games against the Flames. At home, he has 15 points (8-7-15) in 10 games.
Bryan Rust is two points shy of tying Mark Recchi (385) for 16th place on the franchise’s all-time points list.
How to Watch
TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh, NHL Network
Radio: 105.9 The X
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The Pens played a pretty good game at Calgary back in October….best game of that west coast trip anyway, although they lost in a SO 4-3. Of course it was another game in which they blew leads of 2-1 and 3-2 but were competitive with 38 shots while Ned faced just 25 but gave up 3 goals. I hope Ned is sharp tonight and the Pens play like they did last night. Bring home a WIN!
Lets Go Pens!!!
Let’s Go Pens!
I’d rather see Jesse than Bunting in the lineup.,
We’re not far from that being a realistic possibility, imho. However, Sullivan cracked Puljujarvi’s game pretty good on Friday. Said he’s lacked details and has to work on the “away from the puck” game, which is a big thing with NHL coaches.