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Penguins Game 45, Guentzel Returns; Lines, Notes & How to Watch vs. Lightning

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Pittsburgh Penguins game vs. Tampa Bay Lightning

The Pittsburgh Penguins (18-18-8) have been trending sideways since the NHL holiday break. They have just two wins in their last eight games, but they have maintained their hockey .500 standing by virtue of three loser points. They’ll face old friend Jake Guentzel and the difficult Tampa Bay Lightning (22-15-3) on Sunday at PPG Paints Arena.



The puck drops just after 5 p.m.

The Penguins were sidetracked by the physical battles Saturday in a 5-0 loss to the Ottawa Senators. The Penguins power play was 0-for-6, and the team never found traction at even strength. Alex Nedeljkovic was pulled after allowing five goals, though three were controversial, including the first goal of the game, which Penguins coach Mike Sullivan challenged for goaltender interference.

However, Sullivan lost the challenge, and Ottawa not only scored the opening goal (on their first shot of the game) but also scored on the subsequent power play for a 2-0 lead. Ottawa took 20 minutes in penalties, while the Penguins took 16 minutes in the scrappy contest.

Read More: Penguins Report Card: Pens Tank in Chaos; Refs Whiff on Big Goals 

Tampa Bay played an overtime game against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday, losing 3-2. New Jersey “goalie’d” Tampa Bay as netminder Jacob Markstrom was spectacular.

Just as he did for seven seasons with the Penguins, Guentzel is averaging more than a point per game and is scoring at a 40-goal pace. Guentzel has 21 goals in 39 games played. However, Brayden Point leads the team with 25 goals and 47 points. Brandon Hagel trails Point by one point (19-27-46).

This is Guentzel’s second game against the Penguins. He returned with the Carolina Hurricanes shortly after the trade last season.

The Penguins’ starting goalie is a bit of a mystery today, as both goalies played Saturday. Starter Alex Nedeljkovic was pulled in the second period for Tristan Jarry, who didn’t allow a goal. It would seem probable, though not guaranteed, that Jarry will start as scheduled today.

Andrei Vasilevskiy started Saturday, so the Penguins are likely to face backup Jonas Johansson, who has nine appearances this season with an .898 save percentage.

In the jumbled Eastern Conference playoff race, the Penguins trail the Columbus Blue Jackets by two points for the second wild card. Columbus has one game in hand. The Penguins are three points behind the Boston Bruins for the top wild card and have one game in hand on Boston.

Update: Jarry will start in goal. The Penguins placed Evgeni Malkin on injured reserve, activated Philip Tomasino, and scratched Michael Bunting after he was involved in a car accident near the arena before the game.

Penguins Lines

Rickard Rakell-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust

Michael Bunting-Cody Glass-Anthony Beauvillier

Drew O’Connor-Kevin Hayes-Jesse Puljujarvi

Matt Nieto-Blake Lizotte-Noel Acciari

Defense

Marcus Pettersson-Kris Letang

Matt Grzelcyk-Erik Karlsson

Owen Pickering-P.O Joseph

Goalie: Alex Nedeljkovic (likely)/Tristan Jarry

Lightning Lines

Jake Gunetzel–Brayden Point–Nikita Kucherov

Brandon Hagel–Anthony Cirelli–Conor Geekie

Mitchell Chaffee–Nick Paul–Michael Eyssimont

Zemgus Girgensons–Luke Glendening– Cam Atkinson

Defensemen

Victor Hedman–Darren Raddysh

Ryan McDonagh–Erik Cernak

Emil Lilleberg–Nick Perbix

Goaltenders Andrei Vasilevskiy/Jonas Johansson

Special Teams

Penguins power play: 25.6%, 5th. Penguins penalty kill: 79.0%, 16th.

Lightning Power Play: 25.8%, 4th. Lightning Penalty Kill: 82.1%, 9th.

Penguins Game Notes

The Penguins have scored points in seven of their last eight games against Tampa Bay (6-1- 1). They have also scored points in eight of their last 10 games against the Lightning (7-2-1).

In a statistical anomaly, the Penguins are 1-8-0 in the front of back-to-back games but 6-2-0 in the second game.

In his career, Tristan Jarry is 6-3-1 with a 2.49 goals-against average, a .924 save percentage, and one goal in 10 games against Tampa Bay.

Sidney Crosby is one assist shy of tying Hall-of-Famer Marcel Dionne for the 11th-most assists in NHL history and one goal away from passing Bobby Hull for sixth most goals with one franchise.

Crosby has an impressive 66 points (24-42-66) in 50 career games against Tampa Bay.

Erik Karlsson has 12 points (2-10-12) in his last 12 games.

How to Watch

TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh

Radio: 105.9 The X