Pittsburgh Penguins Look to Prove They Belong Tonight Against the Stanley Cup Champions
Photo credit: NHL.com
The Penguins head to Sunrise, Florida, tonight to take on the defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers, where they will look to prove they belong.
The Pittsburgh Penguins head to Sunrise for a tricky contest with the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena.
It's just a crowded stretch for Pittsburgh, as it will face eight games in a 14-day period heading into this coming month's overseas trip to Sweden.
After tonight, the Penguins come home for two with Columbus and St. Louis before going back on a trek that will hit Philadelphia, Minnesota, Winnipeg, and Toronto.
Florida comes in having ended a four-game losing streak with a thrilling last-minute victory over the Bruins, which was fueled by a miraculous bounce that decided the game.
The next meeting will come in April, at which point they will engage in a pair of games to wrap up the season series. Last season, Pittsburgh was 1-0-2 against Florida, with each of its three meetings being decided by a single goal.
The Penguins are averaging way more goals per game than the Panthers so far this season
Statistically, the early-season disparity between these two teams is evident. The Penguins are 10th in the league with 3.29 goals a game, whereas the Panthers are 30th with 2.38.
Florida's home success (3-0-0) hasn't accompanied it out of town yet, as they are still 1-4-0 on the road.
Florida still produces stout offensive pressure, sixth in 5-on-5 expected goals, but fails to capitalize without superstars Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk.
Projected Panthers lines
FORWARDS
Carter Verhaeghe - Sam Bennett - Sam Reinhart
Eetu Luostarinen - Anton Lundell - Brad Marchand
Mackie Samoskevich - Evan Rodrigues - Jesper Boqvist
A.J. Greer - Luke Kunin - Jonah Gadjovich
DEFENSEMEN
Gustav Forsling / Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola / Seth Jones
Uvis Balinskis / Jeff Petry
GOALIES
Sergei Bobrovsky and Daniil Tarasov
FORWARDS
Carter Verhaeghe - Sam Bennett - Sam Reinhart
Eetu Luostarinen - Anton Lundell - Brad Marchand
Mackie Samoskevich - Evan Rodrigues - Jesper Boqvist
A.J. Greer - Luke Kunin - Jonah Gadjovich
DEFENSEMEN
Gustav Forsling / Aaron Ekblad
Niko Mikkola / Seth Jones
Uvis Balinskis / Jeff Petry
GOALIES
Sergei Bobrovsky and Daniil Tarasov
Pittsburgh, meanwhile, has had to count on excellent goaltending by Tristan Jarry and Arturs Silovs to compensate for poor team defense.
Projected Penguins lines
FORWARDS
Rickard Rakell - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust
Anthony Mantha - Evgeni Malkin - Justin Brazeau
Tommy Novak - Ben Kindel - Filip Hallander
Connor Dewar - Blake Lizotte - Noel Acciari
DEFENSEMEN
Parker Wotherspoon / Erik Karlsson
Ryan Shea / Kris Letang
Caleb Jones / Harrison Brunicke
GOALIES
Tristan Jarry and Arturs Silovs
FORWARDS
Rickard Rakell - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust
Anthony Mantha - Evgeni Malkin - Justin Brazeau
Tommy Novak - Ben Kindel - Filip Hallander
Connor Dewar - Blake Lizotte - Noel Acciari
DEFENSEMEN
Parker Wotherspoon / Erik Karlsson
Ryan Shea / Kris Letang
Caleb Jones / Harrison Brunicke
GOALIES
Tristan Jarry and Arturs Silovs
If history is any judge, tonight's game may come down to whether Pittsburgh's goaltending remains red-hot or if the Panthers get back to scoring form.
Either way, this early-season showdown serves as a nice litmus test on where the Penguins stand against a top-notch opponent.
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