Gameday 39: Penguins vs. Senators

Penguins vs. Senators

PPG Paints Arena | Pittsburgh, PA

7:00PM Eastern | AT&TSN-PT | NHL-N | TSN5 | RDS

Gather ’round, fellow humans.  Because tonight is the final Penguins game of this calendar year of 2019- a year that, in a word, sucked.

It’s fitting too that the Penguins would close out 2019 against a team that embodies 2019 and all of its horror: The Ottawa Senators.

You may remember the Ottawa Senators from such feature films like Losing In Double Overtime In Game 7 To Chris Kunitz:

It should be a win song. Period. #FifthAveVictory pic.twitter.com/U6t5DxvW8Q

— The Pensblog (@Pensblog) September 12, 2018

With 2019 coming to a close, we can put some wretched stuff behind us.  Like the Islanders sweeping the Penguins 8 months ago, or Phil Kessel getting traded away 6 months ago, and like the ghosts of PPG Paints Past.

And what did you do on your lunch break today? pic.twitter.com/DiN9wu8Kwl

— Andi Perelman (@AndiPerelman) December 4, 2019

Everyone is still hurt.

But we must not forget the fallen, either.  Not like Sidney Crosby, Nick Bjugstad, Brian Dumoulin, or Justin Schultz.

No.

Names like Matt Cullen.  Like Chris Kunitz.  Like Bill Guerin.  And this unrelenting dipshit.

Guentzel – Malkin – Rust

Kahun – McCann – Galchenyuk

Simon – Blandisi – Hornqvist

ZAR – Blueger – Tanev

Johnson – Letang

Pettersson – Marino

Riikola – Ruhwedel

Jarry

Senators

Tkachuk – Pageau – Brown

Namestnikov – Tierney – Duclair

Ennis – Anisimov – White

Paul – Beaudin – Sabourin

Chabot – Goloubef

Borowiecki – Brannstrom

Englund – Jaros

Hogberg

The Senators are somehow 16-18-5 this year, good for 37 points from 39 games.  Inexplicably, they are not the worst team in the league, but have won just 5 games away from home this season.

To put that into perspective, the Penguins have lost just 4 games in regulation and 6 in total on home ice.

This is also the first time since 2010 (excluding 2012 when no games were played) that the Penguins didn’t have a game on New Years Eve.  That night, the Penguins lost in a shootout to the 10-19-6……….New York Islanders.

The put 38 shots on goal, with Tyler Kennedy and Zbynek Michalek leading the team with 5 each, and only Chris Connor beat Rick DiPietro.

It is in my expert opinion that the Penguins would do well to not replicate that result against a similar opponent.

Reflected below, via Wave Intel, is what the Penguins have done this season at home and what the Sens have done on the road.  You’ll notice that the Senators are pretty goddamn abysmal.

What this data doesn’t account for is something intangible: the Sens sending out a goalie tonight with the name Hogberg.

Hog.  Berg.

Make it 3 in a row to end the year.

Wrangle the Hog.

Go Pens.