Kessel Back Again, Gm 42: Penguins Lines, Notes & What to Watch vs. Arizona

The Pittsburgh Penguins (26-10-5) have won five straight and 16 of 18 games despite not playing their best hockey over the last couple of weeks. It’s a luxury the Penguins have earned through a combination of raucous comebacks, quick-strike goals, and a few subpar opponents. They’ll get a hapless team that doesn’t have a long-term home when they host the Arizona Coyotes (10-26-4) at PPG Paints Arena. The puck drops just after 7 p.m.

It’s not the first time Phil Kessel has played in Pittsburgh since the Penguins traded him to Arizona, but for many, it’s still an event. Kessel has 27 points (5-22-27) in 40 games this season.

The Penguins players talked openly about not looking past the game, the second of their six-game homestand.

“Teams have ups and downs … they’ve had obviously some turnover. New faces, a new coach. Now they’re playing a lot better, and this is the NHL. If you look at “heir lineup and guys, what they’ve accomplished ”n the league, and their ability. You have to respect that. It’s the NHL,” Brian Boyle said. “We plan and prepare every morning and then every night to win games against everybody. And it’s no different

Tristan Jarry will start again as backup Casey DeSmith still works on his game. Jarry was spectacular on Sunday as the Penguins rallied from a 2-0 deficit to beat the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 in a shootout.

“I think he set a record for fist pumps in a win,” Mike Matheson joked in the Penguins locker room as he awarded the game helmet to Jarry.

Penguins center Teddy Blueger is the latest added to the IR. Blueger had surgery Monday for a fractured jaw.

“He’s in the chipmunk phase right now. Kind of swollen,” Aston-Reese joked about his friend. Aston-Reese also had surgery for a fractured jaw during the 2018 NHL playoffs after receiving a hit from Tom Wilson.

Expected Pittsburgh Penguins Lines

Expected Coyotes Lines, Per PuckPedia.com:

Crouse-Larsson-Kessel

Keller-Boyd-Schmaltz

Ladd-Nash-Fischer

O’Brien-Galchenyuk-Eriksson

Defense:

Capobianco-Gostisbehere

? – Stralman

Chychrun-Lyubushkin

Goalie:

Karel Vejmalka

Pittsburgh Penguins Game Notes

*Starts are critical. The Penguins are 21-3-0 when scoring first and 14-1-1 when leading after the first period.

*The Penguins PK is still No. 1 in the league, though their percentage has dipped to 89.1%. The Penguins power play remains iffy at 17.6%, 20th in the league. Arizona is next to last in penalty killing (72.8%) and dead last on the power play, 12.0%.

*The Penguins have won six consecutive games against Arizona and have points in each of its last nine games (8-0-1) dating back to Feb. 29, 2016.

*The Penguins (3) are one of three teams in the NHL (Colorado, 4; Toronto, 3) to have three win streaks of five or more games this season.

*Kasperi Kapanen and Jeff Carter scored nine seconds apart on Sunday afternoon to mark the fastest two goals by the Penguins this season. Per NHL PR, the last time Pittsburgh scored two-consecutive goals in a faster sequence was on Feb. 11, 2000 (0:07 vs. EDM).

*Tristan Jarry registered his 22nd victory on Sunday against Winnipeg. Only Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy (23) has more wins than him.

Penguins Bets, Odds, and More

Oddsmakers don’t think much of the Arizona Coyotes chance to hang with the Penguins on Tuesday night. So, we’ll have to look elsewhere for good value and fun Penguins bets.

New users can skip the DraftKings promo code and still grab 56-1 odds by clicking here. Bet $5 to win $280 on any NFL team in the postseason.

Puckline: Penguins -1.5 (-165) Coyotes +1.5 (+165).

Moneyline: Penguins (-360) Coyotes (+460).

1st period: Penguins -.5 (-115)

First goal: Bryan Rust +1100, Evan Rodrigues +1200, Kasperi Kapanen +1500

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