The ailing Pittsburgh Penguins play host to the resurgent Philadelphia Flyers tonight in the first installment of the Battle of Pennsylvania. The Penguins (3-3-2) have started yet another season with a myriad of injuries but somehow are staying afloat. Mike Sullivan has done a great job coaching whatever he’s given on a nightly basis, with a lot of those nights not including Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang among others.
After starting the season 3-0-2, including several surprising victories against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs, the Penguins have faltered in three consecutive contests and have been outscored 13-3.
Sidney Crosby returned from a wrist injury on Saturday ahead of their tilt against the New Jersey Devils but has now found himself on the COVID protocol list. Evgeni Malkin is set to miss the first few months of the season still ailing with a knee injury, while Kris Letang has missed the last 4 games due to COVID protocol restrictions as well.
In addition to Crosby being out due to covid protocol, the Penguins will be without the services of defensemen Brian Dumoulin, Marcus Pettersson, and Chad Ruhwedel. Bryan Rust is also on injured with a lower body injury, but he did practice yesterday for the Penguins.
With all the absences and absentees, the Penguins have relied on their depth more than any team in the NHL. Danton Heinen leads the team with 4 goals and 6 points, while Brock McGinn, Drew O’Connor, and Evan Rodrigues have 5 points. Former Flyer Jeff Carter has taken the mantle as Pittsburgh’s first-line center with all the injuries, playing just over 20 minutes a night and recording 4 points in 8 games so far.
After a not-so-great season last year, Tristan Jarry has righted the ship as he has posted a 3-2-1 record alongside a 2.15 GAA and .926 save percentage. He finished 25-9-3 last year but with a 2.75 GAA and a paltry .909 save percentage. He flamed out in the playoffs in 6 games while posting a .888 save percentage and a 3.18 GAA as the New York Islanders ousted the Penguins in the first round.
As for the Flyers (5-2-1), they’re coming into this game on the heels of a shutout victory against the winless Arizona Coyotes. Carter Hart was spectacular yet again, turning away 29 shots, as the Flyers were finally able to crack Karel Vejmelka in the third period. It was definitely a trap game of sorts, considering it was sandwiched between the Western Canadian road trip and then two huge games against divisional foes on the road.
The Flyers played rather loose defensively at times, forcing Carter Hart to make some ten-bell stops. The offense was grinding all night but for whatever reason couldn’t crack the goaltender. Cam Atkinson thought he broke the deadlock in the second period but the goal was waved off because the referee deemed it a dead play; even though no whistle was blown and the referee on sight pointed towards a good goal.
Sean Couturier eventually nailed the official icebreaker with 12:06 to play in the third period in his 700th career NHL game. Scott Laughton and Claude Giroux would tack on the insurance markers in the victory, and Hart racked up his 3rd career shutout with his 29 saves.
Couturier quietly leads the team in points with 11 in 8 games, with Giroux not so far behind him with 5 goals and 10 points. Atkinson still leads the team with 6 goals but he is goalless in the last 3 games, while Joel Farabee is without a point in the last 5.
After a blistering start to the season, the Flyers’ scoring has dried up a little with 6 goals in 3 games, including being shutout by the Calgary Flames and then going almost 160 minutes without goals in between the 3 games.
The schedule gets a lot more difficult as the opponents get harder and harder by the game. Up next are the Penguins and Washington Capitals, and then after that they face the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Carolina Hurricanes, the Dallas Stars, the Calgary Flames, the Tampa Bay Lightning twice, the Boston Bruins, and the Florida Panthers before American Thanksgiving. They not only need be sure-footed defensively, but their scoring woes have to be solved as soon as possible.
Carter Hart will start tonight and he carries a 3-2-1 record with a sparkling .928 save percentage and a 2.15 GAA into the game. The Flyers will be without the services of Ryan Ellis, yet again, as he is still nursing a mysterious lower-body injury. He has missed the last 5 games and is set to miss Saturday’s tilt against the Capitals as well.
Philadelphia Flyers Projected Lines:
Claude Giroux – Sean Couturier – Travis Konecny
Joel Farabee – Derick Brassard – Cam Atkinson
Oskar Lindblom – Scott Laughton – James van Riemsdyk
Nicolas Aube-Kubel – Nate Thompson – Zack MacEwen
Ivan Provorov – Justin Braun
Travis Sanheim – Rasmus Ristolainen
Keith Yandle – Nate Seeler
Carter Hart
Pittsburgh Penguins Projected Lines:
Jake Guentzel – Jeff Carter – Danton Heinen
Jason Zucker – Evan Rodrigues – Kasperi Kapanen
Zach Aston-Reese – Teddy Blueger – Brock McGinn
Sam Lafferty – Brian Boyle – Drew O’Connor
Michael Matheson – Kris Letang
Pierre-Olivier Joseph – John Marino
Juuso Riikola – Mark Friedman
Tristan Jarry
