EDMONTON, Alberta — With points in five straight games and wins in two straight, the Pittsburgh Penguins (24-14-11) have burst into the second half of the NHL season, warming to the task and currently staking claim to second place in the Metro Division. However, they face the two-time defending Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers (25-18-8) Thursday at Rogers Place.
The puck drops just after 9 p.m. EST (7 p.m. MST).
The Penguins have kept their cool and driven to two straight wins against grinding defensive opponents, the Seattle Kraken and Calgary Flames.
The Penguins were never in too much danger Wednesday as they beat Calgary 4-1 at the Scotiabank Saddledome. The Penguins allowed only four shots in the first period and 19 shots overall.
The Penguins’ second line, centered by Tommy Novak with wingers Evgeni Malkin and Egor Chinakhov, was the offensive stars, scoring a trio of goals, all three beauties in their own way.
Evgeni Malkin scored his 11th goal of the year in the first period on a deflection from the slot. Chinakhov scored his seventh goal of the season and fourth with the Penguins with an impressive wrist shot between the circles. And Tommy Novak scored his ninth goal with a pretty backhand move in the third period.
However, Bryan Rust scored the crucial goal at the start of the third period. The Penguins played poorly in the second period, but Rust extended their lead to 3-1 with a goal just 50 seconds into the third. The tally lifted the Penguins and doused the Flames.
Edmonton has recently struggled against the Metro Division, losing Tuesday to the New Jersey Devils, 2-1. In the last 10 games, Edmonton has also lost to the New York Islanders (1-0) and the Philadelphia Flyers (5-2).
Tuesday, Edmonton bombarded New Jersey in the third period, but could not get the tying goal. Matthew Savoi scored the only Edmonton goal, and former Penguins netminder Tristan Jarry stopped 15 of 17 in the loss.
Edmonton remains in second place in the Pacific Division, and Connor McDavid has an astounding 85 points (30-55-85) in 50 games. However, the forwards crew is banged up. Leon Draisaitl, Adam Henrique, and Kasperi Kapanen are out with injuries.
UPDATE: Leon Draisaitl is a surprise IN the lineup.
Clarification: Draisaitl was out while he attends to a family illness in Germany. He was expected back later this week.
Defenseman Alec Regula skated at forward Wednesday at practice.
Since Stuart Skinner played Wednesday, in all likelihood, Arturs Silovs will start in goal for the Penguins. For Edmonton, both Connor Ingram and Jarry have played well recently.
How to Watch
TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh
Radio: 105.9 The X
Expected Penguins Lines
Rickard Rakell-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust
Egor Chinakhov-Tommy Novak-Evgeni Malkin
Anthony Mantha-Ben Kindel-Justin Brazeau
Connor Dewar-Blake Lizotte-Noel Acciari
Defense
Parker Wotherspoon-Ryan Shea
Brett Kulak-Jack St. Ivany
Ryan Graves-Connor Clifton
Goalie: Arturs Silovs, confirmed
Expected Oilers Lines
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins–Connor McDavid–Zach Hyman
Isaac Howard-Jack Roslovic-Matthew Savoie
Mattias Janmark-Curtis Lazar-Andrew Mangiapane
Vasily Podkolzin-Trent Frederic-Alec Regula
Defense
Mattias Ekholm-Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse-Ty Emberson
Jake Walman-Spencer Statsney
Goalie: Tristan Jarry, confirmed
Special Teams
Penguins’ power play: 27.8%, 3rd. Penguins penalty kill: 83.2%, 5th.
Oilers power play: 32.6%, 1st. Oilers penalty kill: 80.6%, 11th.
Penguins Game Notes
The Penguins have wins in five of their last six road games (5-1-0).
The Penguins have just two wins in their last 10 games against Edmonton (2-8-0).
Tommy Novak has five points (1-4-5) over his last four games. He has six
points (1-5-6) in eight career games against the Oilers.
Special teams could be a large factor. Edmonton maintains the best power play in the NHL, but the Penguins have killed off 21 of their last 22 penalties over the past seven
games (95.5%).
The Penguins have scored the first goal of the game in 29 of their 49 games this year (59.2%), and only two other teams in the NHL have more goals in the first period (53) than the Penguins (Colorado and Tampa Bay).
Categorized: Penguins Pregame
