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It's a Big Night for the Penguins - Here's What's Really at Stake at PPG Paints Arena
The Penguins are set to face off at home vs. the St. Louis Blues, and a lot is on the line, including Pittsburgh's standings position and personal statistics.
The Penguins entertain the ailing St. Louis Blues tonight at home in PPG Paints Arena before embarking to Philadelphia for a heartfelt back-to-back game on Tuesday against the Flyers.
The Penguins then continue a grueling road trip with Minnesota, Winnipeg, and Toronto waiting.
The Blues have been struggling, having lost their last three in a row (0-2-1), including a 6-4 stunning loss in Detroit after blowing a 4-0 lead. They're 1-3-1 in their last five games.
Projected Blues lines
FORWARDS
Jake Neighbours - Robert Thomas* - Jimmy Snuggerud
Mathieu Joseph - Brayden Schenn - Jordan Kyrou
Pavel Buchnevich - Pius Suter - Nathan Walker
Dylan Holloway - Oskar Sundqvist - Nick Bjugstad
DEFENSEMEN
Cam Fowler / Colton Parayko
Philip Broberg / Justin Faulk
Tyler Tucker / Matthew Kessel
GOALIES
Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer
FORWARDS
Jake Neighbours - Robert Thomas* - Jimmy Snuggerud
Mathieu Joseph - Brayden Schenn - Jordan Kyrou
Pavel Buchnevich - Pius Suter - Nathan Walker
Dylan Holloway - Oskar Sundqvist - Nick Bjugstad
DEFENSEMEN
Cam Fowler / Colton Parayko
Philip Broberg / Justin Faulk
Tyler Tucker / Matthew Kessel
GOALIES
Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer
Pittsburgh, on the other hand, got points in both games last season (1-0-1) and won't play St. Louis again until the last weekend of the regular season in April.
Ville Koivunen has been recalled and will play vs. the Blues
One of the new storylines is the return of Ville Koivunen, who was recalled after 11 points in six games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
He will replace injured Rickard Rakell, and rookie Ben Kindel will stay with the top power-play group, more proof that he's sticking around longer than his nine-game tryout.
The right-wing shooter will get the headlining chance on the PP tonight alongside Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
Projected Penguins lines
FORWARDS
Filip Hallander - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust
Anthony Mantha - Evgeni Malkin - Justin Brazeau
Tommy Novak - Ben Kindel - Ville Koivunen
Connor Dewar - Blake Lizotte - Noel Acciari
DEFENSEMEN
Parker Wotherspoon / Erik Karlsson
Ryan Shea / Kris Letang
Matt Dumba / Connor Clifton
Goalies
Tristan Jarry and Arturs Silovs
FORWARDS
Filip Hallander - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust
Anthony Mantha - Evgeni Malkin - Justin Brazeau
Tommy Novak - Ben Kindel - Ville Koivunen
Connor Dewar - Blake Lizotte - Noel Acciari
DEFENSEMEN
Parker Wotherspoon / Erik Karlsson
Ryan Shea / Kris Letang
Matt Dumba / Connor Clifton
Goalies
Tristan Jarry and Arturs Silovs
St. Louis ranks 24th on the penalty kill (72.0%) but has managed to stay out of the box with only 25 penalties in eight games. That will come into play against a Pittsburgh power play that is warming up, scoring on five of its past ten opportunities.
The Penguins have been outshot lately, but still receive solid goaltending and timely scoring. Against a defense-beset Blues team, this might be the opportunity for Pittsburgh to gain some traction going into their wacky week on the road.
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 27 | 68 ANSWERS It's a Big Night for the Penguins - Here's What's Really at Stake at PPG Paints Arena Who will win tonight? | ||
| Penguins | 55 | 80.9 % |
| Blues | 13 | 19.1 % |
| List of polls | ||