PITTSBURGH (34-13-6) VS ARIZONA (17-28-7)
GILA RIVER ARENA, GLENDALE, AZ.
8:00 PM EST. ROOT SPORTS
Tonight, the Pens finish up a short, two game Western Conference road swing (and the Dads Trip) as they travel to Glendale to take on the 2nd worst team in the league in the Arizona Coyotes for the second and final time this season.
The last time these two teams met, the Pens exploded for 4 goals in the 2nd period at PPG, finishing the game with a 7-0 demolition job.
If you remember, that was the game Crosby did this obscene shit to welcome Domingue to the game.
https://gfycat.com/WeakMadGuppy
Since then, both clubs have been trending exactly as expected. The Yotes come in winners of 4 of their last 10, “good” for a 4-5-1 record over that stretch. Pacioretty and the Habs buried them in overtime 5-4.
The Pens, on the other hand, are 7-2-1 in their last 10 and are coming off a spirited 4-1 win over the Avalanche on Thursday night.
PROJECTED LINEUPS:
Penguins
The Penguins weren’t slated to hold a morning skate, but these were the new look lines at practice yesterday.
Kunitz-Crosby-Guentzel
Wilson-Malkin-Hornqvist
Cullen-Bonino-Kessel
Kuhnhackl-Rowney-Fehr
Dumoulin-Letang
Cole-Schultz
Maatta-Daley
Fleury
With the Rust injury, the Pens called up Josh Archibald in the event Malkin can’t go. All signs point to the return of Eugene tonight though. If Fleury’s dad is on the dad’s trip (entirely unsure, to be honest), you can bet your house on him getting the start. Otherwise, it should be Murr.
Coyotes
Rieder-Holland-Vrbata
Domi-Burmistrov-McGinn
Perlini-Dvorak-Doan
Crouse-Martinook-White
Ekman-Larsson-Schenn
Goligoski-Stone
Chychrun-Murphy
Smith
Give Mike Smith some credit. Surrounded by mediocrity, someone from this team had to go to the All Star Game. Smith got off to a really nice start this year, but has cooled off a bit lately, posting a 12-15-6 record with a 2.92 GAA and .915 SV%. He’s has been pretty good in his last 5 games, posting a .914 SV% with 1 shutout and wins against Vancouver and San Jose and a 36 save loss to LA.
Martin Hanzal is listed as DTD with an illness, presumably from watching his team play. But he could return tonight. Expect him and Shane Doan to do some chickenshit stuff at some point. When was the last time Shane Doan played a meaningful game?
Related: Doan has said he’d be open to a trade to a contender at the deadline.
Also related: No one wants Shane Doan. Dude has made a living off throwing late hits and he’s too slow to do that anymore.
https://gfycat.com/FancyOnlyChihuahua
Seriously, fuck Shane Doan with a rusty nail.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
- Home Cooking. Arizona comes into this tilt with an abysmal 11-13-3 record on home ice. Despite the Pens road woes, they sit at 12-10-3 on the season. With as tight as the Metro Division playoff race is, the games you’re expected to win, you have to win.
- Keeping the Puck. The Penguins have had some struggles of late needlessly giving the puck away, particularly in the neutral zone. The Yotes are used to that, having been hemorrhaging money for years. Arizona sits in the basement of all possession metrics with a shot attempt share of just 45.89%, so if the Pens keep the puck, this could get out of hand quickly.
- Special Teams. Arizona ranks 27th (76.7%) on the PK and 25th (15.9%) on the PP. We know how bad the Pens PK has been this season (22nd at 79.1%), but the PP has been lights out, 4th best at 22.6%. Arizona has been shorthanded the 7th most at home this season, while the Pens have been shorthanded the 8th most on the road. If there was ever a game for the Pens to right the ship with the PK, it could be this one.
- Sidney Crosby. Look, Arizona sucks more than a Vegas hooker on speed. They don’t have too many options to match up and shut down 87, particularly if 71 is back in the lineup. Today should be the day for him to get #1000.
Drop the Coyotes.
Go Pens.
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