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Penguins on the verge of breaking one of the worst streaks in franchise history tonight vs Canadiens
The Penguins are on the verge of being shut out for a third straight game tonight, which would break their all-time scoreless record of 170:29 minutes.
Jacob Fowler made 30 saves in his fourth NHL start, recording his first career shutout as the Montreal Canadiens beat the Pittsburgh Penguins by a score of 4-0 in their home game of a home-and-home series Saturday night.
What the Penguins are at risk of accomplishing tonight
They will play Sunday night in Pittsburgh, where the Penguins are at risk of setting a franchise record by not scoring.
Josh Anderson had two goals, including an empty-netter, and Owen Beck had his first NHL goal. Juraj Slafkovsky also scored, helping Montreal move to 19-12-4 with its second straight victory.
Pittsburgh has fallen to 14-11-9 with its eighth straight loss, while Stuart Skinner stopped 17 shots in his second start with the Penguins after yielding five goals in a 6-4 loss to Edmonton following his debut after a trade from the Oilers.
Sidney Crosby still sits at 1,722 points, just one point shy of the franchise lead held by Mario Lemieux. However, the Pens extended their shutout streak to two games following Thursday's 4-0 loss to Ottawa.
Why tonight could be a night many may want to forget
Though the team has never been shut out in three consecutive matches, the 120:14 stretch without scoring does put them on pace to shatter one of the worst shutout droughts in team history.
Pittsburgh's longest shutout streak occurred when they went 170:29 without scoring from Oct. 31 to Nov. 7 in 1973-74.
"The Penguins have never been shut out in three consecutive games.
The franchise's longest sequence of being shut out happened in 1973-74. They went 170:29 over four games between Oct. 31 and Nov. 7.
The team currently has a streak of 120:14."
- Seth Rorabaugh
The franchise's longest sequence of being shut out happened in 1973-74. They went 170:29 over four games between Oct. 31 and Nov. 7.
The team currently has a streak of 120:14."
- Seth Rorabaugh
Yesterday, scoring began late in the first period when Slafkovsky kept the play alive with a stick check and fired a power-play goal past Skinner with 3:19 left.
This was followed by a goal from Beck, who outmaneuvered a falling Parker Wotherspoon just 2:08 later, slipping a puck into the corner over Skinner's shoulder.
Anderson finished off a short-handed breakaway goal in the second period to ice the victory. Puck drop is set for 7 PM ET tonight at PPG Paints Arena.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 21 | 62 ANSWERS Penguins on the verge of breaking one of the worst streaks in franchise history tonight vs Canadiens Will the Penguins break their all-time scoreless record tonight? | ||
| Yes | 40 | 64.5 % |
| No | 22 | 35.5 % |
| List of polls | ||