Penguins

Penguins Game 41, Storm Warning: Lines, Notes, & How to Watch vs. Hurricanes

Published

3 weeks ago

January 5, 2025

Pittsburgh Penguins, Carolina Hurricanes game

RALEIGH, NC — The Pittsburgh Penguins (17-17-6) remain at .500 but have lost three of their last four games, including the shootout loss to the Florida Panthers on Friday. The Penguins’ three-game road trip concludes against the Carolina Hurricanes (23-13-2) on Sunday at the Lenovo Center.

The puck drops just after 6 p.m.

As a backdrop, the Penguins haven’t won a game in Carolina since 2018, and they trail the third-place Carolina by eight points in the Metro Division. The Penguins are tied with the Ottawa Senators and Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card with 40 points, but Ottawa has two games in hand.

The Penguins have played well but have not gotten the bounces since the resumption of the season after the holiday break. The Penguins are 1-2-1, but they have spent considerable time at the net front in their last two games against Detroit and Florida but couldn’t finish open chances.

Evgeni Malkin is probably still wondering how he missed an open net in the third period that would have tied the game. Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell scored power-play goals, and Rakell’s tally tied the game with just 40 seconds remaining. The Penguins and Panthers traded chances in overtime, but neither was able to score a goal.

There is a good chance Penguins defenseman Kris Letang will return to the lineup. He was a full participant in practice Saturday, and coach Mike Sullivan will update his status around 4 p.m. and name a starting goalie. Tristan Jarry stopped 29 of 31 shots in the shootout loss vs. Florida. Alex Nedeljkovic started the previous two games.

Carolina played Saturday night at home against the Minnesota Wild, so the Penguins may get a team without fresh legs. Minnesota beat Carolina 4-0, but Carolina has the best penalty kill in the NHL.

Well-traveled goalie and former Penguins goalie Dustin Tokarski will start for Carolina.

Penguins Injury update: Philip Tomasino did not practice Saturday and was still being evaluated for a lower-body injury.

Penguins Lines

Rickard Rakell-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust

Michael Bunting-Evgeni Malkin-Cody Glass

Drew O’Connor-Kevin Hayes-Anthony Beauvillier

Matt Nieto-Blake Lizotte-Noel Acciari

Defense (Updated)

Marcus Pettersson-Kris Letang

Matt Grzelcyk-Erik Karlsson

Owen Pickering-P.O Joseph

Goalies: Tristan Jarry, Alex Nedeljkovic

Hurricanes Lines

Seth Jarvis–Sebastian Aho-Jack Roslovic

Andrei Svechnikov-Jesperi Kotkaniemi-Martin Necas

Jordan Martinook-Jordan Staal-William Carrier

Eric Robinson-Juha Jääskä-Jackson Blake

Jaccob Slavin-Brent Burns

Dmitry Orlov-Jalen Chatfield

Ty Smith-Sean Walker

Goalie: Dustin Tokarski

Special Teams

Penguins power play: 26.3%, 4th. Penguins penalty kill: 81.3%, 12th.

Hurricanes Power Play: 25%, 6th. Hurricanes Penalty Kill: 85.5%, 1st.

Penguins Game Notes

The Penguins are 14-10-5 in their last 28 games against the Hurricanes overall, dating back to Jan. 17, 2016. However, the Penguins haven’t won in Carolina since Dec. 22, 2018.

Blake Lizotte has three goals, three assists, and six points in eight career games versus Carolina. His 0.75 points-per-game average against the Hurricanes is his highest total versus one team.

Career high? Matt Grzelcyk’s next assist will give him 20 for just the third time in his career. His career high of assists is 22, set in 75 games with Boston in 2022-23.

Sidney Crosby (603) is just one goal shy of tying Hall-of-Famer Bobby Hull for the sixth-most goals with one franchise in NHL history.

Crosby is also just 12 face-off wins shy of becoming the NHL’s all-time face-off wins leader. The stat started being tracked in the 1997-98 season.

The Penguins have nine power-play goals in their last 19 attempts.