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Penguins Game 47, Make or Break Roady; Lines, Notes, & How to Watch vs. Sabres

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Pittsburgh Penguins game, vs. Buffalo Sabres

The Pittsburgh Penguins (18-20-8) tanked their recent five-game homestand, winning only once. The resulting fallout was a drop in the standings behind six teams for a playoff spot, and general manager Kyle Dubas waived starting goalie Tristan Jarry. The Penguins badly need wins before the season is lost, and they begin a seven-game road trip Friday against the Buffalo Sabres at Key Bank Center.



The puck drops just after 7 p.m.

The Penguins are in trouble. They have fallen two games below hockey .500, and there are only two teams in the Eastern Conference with a worse winning percentage (the New York Islanders and Buffalo Sabres).

The Penguins ‘ seven-game trip begins with a back-to-back in Buffalo and then against the Washington Capitals Saturday before the team embarks on a five-game West Coast swing through LA, Anaheim, Seattle, San Jose, and Utah.

Tuesday, the Penguins seemingly had the game in control. They outshot the Seattle Kraken 16-2 in the first period but were tied 1-1. Seattle scored a pair of goals 49 seconds apart, then later added the empty netter for a 4-2 win at PPG Paints Arena.

Read More: Penguins Room: Sullivan Slams Commitment, Takes Blame; Letang Claims Frustration

Buffalo has been mired in a season-long slump. High hopes of ending a 13-year playoff drought have been dashed, and the drought is likely to extend to a 14th. However, Buffalo has won three of its last four games, including beating the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2 on Wednesday.

Tage Thompson leads the team with 35 points and 19 goals. No. 1 goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has kept his save percentage in the range of perfectly average at .898.

Friday will be the first Penguins game without Tristan Jarry, who cleared waivers on Thursday. Alex Nedeljkovic and Joel Blomqvist are the new goalie tandem.

UPDATE: Coach Mike Sullivan announced Alex Nedeljkovic as the starting goalie.

“We have three games in four nights starting (Friday), with a whole lot of travel in between,” said coach Mike Sullivan. “So, both guys are going to get an opportunity to play. At the end of the day, we’re going to try to make the best decisions to help the team.”

Rickard Rakell left practice Thursday, but Sullivan indicated it wasn’t serious. However, it appears Ryan Graves might get back into the lineup.

Penguins Lines

Rickard Rakell-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust

Michael Bunting-Evgeni Malkin-Anthony Beauvillier

Drew O’Connor-Kevin Hayes-Philip Tomasino

Blake Lizotte-Cody Glass-Noel Acciari

Defense

Marcus Pettersson-Kris Letang

Matt Grzelcyk-Erik Karlsson

Ryan Graves-P.O Joseph

Sabres Lines

Jason Zucker-Ryan McLeod-Tage Thompson

JJ Peterka-Dylan Cozens-Alex Tuch

Zach Benson-Peyton Krebbs-Jack Quinn

Beck Malenstyn-Tyson Kozak-Sam Lafferty

Defense

Rasmus Dahlin-Bowen Byram

Owen Power-Henri Jokiharju

Mattias Samuelsson-Connor Clifton

Goalie: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Special Teams

Penguins power play: 25.6%, 6th. Penguins penalty kill: 79.2%, 16th.

Sabres Power Play: 17.6%, 27th. Sabres Penalty Kill: 78.8%, 18th.

Penguins Game Notes

The Penguins have recently struggled in Buffalo and are 1-3-1 in their last five visits to KeyBank Center.

The Penguins begin their 10th set of back-to-back games. Thus far, the team is 7-11-0 in back-to-backs (1-8-0 on the first night and 6-3-0 on the second night).

Erik Karlsson’s 41 points (14-27-41) and Kris Letang’s 33 points (6-27-33) against the Sabres rank first and second, respectively, among active defensemen.

Tonight, the Penguins begin their season-long seven-game road trip spanning a total of 15 days. It’s the longest road trip since their eight-game road swing nearly 30 years ago, from Oct. 14-28, 1997 (NYR-MTL-TBL-FLASJS-EDM-VAN-CGY).

Sidney Crosby remains one goal shy of passing Bobby Hull for sixth most goals with one franchise in history (604) and one assist short of surpassing Marcel Dionne (1040) for 11th all-time.

How to Watch

TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh; Radio: 105.9 The X