Penguins Look to Finish Road Trip Strong Against Sharks

The Penguins are back home next Tuesday for a 7 p.m. ET game against the Vancouver Canucks and then back on the road to play defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Thursday, but first, the Sharks. The San Jose Sharks, though, still have no first 2025-26 season victory.

Having lost consecutive overtime tilts to the Vegas Golden Knights and Anaheim Ducks, the Sharks then got annihilated 5-1 by the Carolina Hurricanes before losing recently to the Utah Mammoth 6-3.

Through Friday, the Sharks were tied with Ottawa and Calgary for the worst goal differential in the league at minus-9.

The Penguins will once again face San Jose on December 13 in Pittsburgh. The two teams split last season. Pittsburgh won a nail-biting five-round shootout at home in November but lost 2-1 away in January.

Pittsburgh practiced in Los Angeles on Friday prior to traveling north to San Jose. Ben Kindel, Harrison Brunicke, and Filip Hallander should stay in the lineup, with Philip Tomasino being out as Noel Acciari maintained his position on the fourth line.

Evgeni Malkin keeps making history with seven points in his first five games, the fourth-best start to a season by a forward 39 or older in NHL history. Only legends Gordie Howe (1968), Jean Béliveau (1970), and Joe Sakic (2008) were better.

As the Penguins finish up their road trip, confidence and momentum are building.

With Malkin leading the way and some young skaters establishing their roles, Pittsburgh appears set to keep building on its strong early-season play when it plays at home at PPG Paints Arena next week.