Penguins

Penguins Game 8, Trouble Brewing; Lines, Notes, & How to Watch vs. Flames

Published

2 months ago

October 22, 2024

CALGARY, Alberta — The Pittsburgh Penguins (3-4-0) have lost two straight following a sloppy win, and coach Mike Sullivan is not waiting for things to get worse. He made sweeping changes to the lineup Sunday in a loss to the Winnipeg Jets. He is poised to make a few more on Tuesday when the Penguins visit the Calgary Flames (4-0-1) at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

The puck will drop just after 9:30 p.m. ET.

There were four new forward lines as the Penguins staked themselves a 2-0 lead against the Winnipeg Jets Sunday. Kevin Hayes scored his third goal of the young season, and Lars Eller scored a pair, but the Penguins’ defensive mistakes were both costly and worthy of significant head-scratching.

To wit, captain Sidney Crosby didn’t take responsibility following a faceoff loss, and that player—Adam Lowry—scored the game-winning goal. However, the Penguins’ mistakes were not few, as they lost 6-3 to Winnipeg at the Canada Life Centre.

“We’ve got to work at it. It starts with just the right mindset. We’re quick to try to jump on the offense, and we don’t have the puck, and we end up putting ourselves and our teammates in a tough spot,” said Sullivan following the game. “So I think we’ve got to have more of a mindset of playing defense first.”

The Calgary Flames are red-hot, every pun intended. They’re getting good goaltending from Dustin Wolf and Dan Vladar, as well as offense from defenseman Rasmus Andersson, who is tied for the team lead with six points. Calgary is also enjoying the revitalization of Jonathan Huberdeau, who has six points and three goals.

You may see a few stories in the Canadian media who are enjoying the backstory of tonight’s game. As Sidney Crosby rehabbed from the concussion and soft tissue neck injury that kept him off the ice for most of 12 months in 2012-13, he practiced with Wolf, who was just a child.

Crosby didn’t remember it, but Wolf kept the pictures. Wolf is Calgary’s starting goalie Tuesday.

We also expect to see Michael Bunting return to the Penguins lineup after a one-game exile to the press box. The Penguins’ goalie situation is stable for now. Tristan Jarry was the spare goalie at practice, and Sullivan explained that he’ll be working with goalie coach Andy Chiodo for a while. Alex Nedeljkovic and Joel Blomqvist are the Penguins’ top two goalies until that situation is resolved.