The Pittsburgh Penguins (3-3-0) are riding a roller coaster of consistency, much like they did last season when they largely failed to remain close in the playoff race until late in the campaign. The Penguins have alternated good and bad games to an even record but will face a heavy and undefeated Winnipeg Jets (4-0-0) who have outscored their opponents 18-5 this season.
The puck will drop just after 3 p.m. ET.
Penguins team veterans and coach Mike Sullivan didn’t try to hide their disgust after being dominated by the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday. The Penguins lost 4-1, but the game wasn’t that close. The team was initially credited with only nine shots in the first 40 minutes. Scorers later adjusted the total to 11, but it mattered only for posterity as the Penguins were outclassed by their division rival.
Drew O’Connor scored the only goal for the Penguins, and rookie goalie Joel Blomqvist was very good, stopping 33 of 37.
In their last four games, Winnipeg has won two overtime games over Chicago and Minnesota and blown out Edmonton and San Jose. On Friday, Winnipeg boat raced San Jose, 8-3.
Forwards Cole Perfetti and Vladislav Namestnikov and defenseman Neal Pionk had four points. Perfetti had two goals. This season, goalie Connor Hellebuyck is 4-0-0 with a .952 save percentage.
Also, the Winnipeg power play is 7-for-14 and leads the NHL.
Yes, the Penguins will have their work cut out for them.
Sullivan made lineup changes at practice on Saturday. If the lines from practice hold up, winger Michael Bunting will be a healthy scratch, and Valtteri Puustinen will play for the first time this season.
Ryan Shea also took the third pairing, and Jack St. Ivany, who has struggled in a few games this season, was out.
The Penguins also recalled goalie Alex Nedeljkovic from his conditioning assignment, indicating that they will carry three goalies through the four-game road trip.
Expected Penguins Lines
Anthony Beauvillier-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust
Drew O’Connor-Evgeni Malkin-Rickard Rakell
Valtteri Puustinen-Lars Eller-Jesse Puljujarvi
Kevin Hayes-Cody Glass-Noel Acciari
Defense
Matt Grzelcyk-Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson-Erik Karlsson
Ryan Graves-Ryan Shea
Goalie: Sullivan will announce the starter at 1 p.m.
Expected Jets Lines
Kyle Connor-Mark Scheifele-Gabriel Vilardi
Cole Perfetti-Vladislav Namestnikov-Nikolaj Ehlers
Nino Neiderreiter-Adam Lowry-Mason Appleton
Morgan Barron-Rasmus Kupari-Alex Iafallo
Defense
Josh Morrissey-Dylan Demelo
Dylan Samberg-Neal Pionk
Haydn Fleury-Colin Miller
Goalie: Connor Hellebuyck
Special Teams
Penguins Power Play: 4-for-20, 20%. 15th. Penguins Penalty Kill: 4-for-19. 76.5% 10th.
Jets Power Play: 7-for-14, 50%. 1st. Jets Penalty Kill: 1 for 7, 85.7% 8th.
Penguins Game Notes
*The Penguins are 17-5-0 in their last 22 meetings with the Jets. And they have won four of their last five games at Canada Life Centre dating back to Nov. 27, 2018. The Penguins have won five of their last seven games there overall (5-2-0).
*Ryan Graves has seven takeaways through six games this season, which is tied for first in the NHL.
*Sidney Crosby ranks second in the NHL in faceoffs won (77).
*Crosby and Kris Letang have combined on 303 goals in their careers, which is one shy of tying Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty for the third-most goals combined by a forward-defenseman duo in NHL history. Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito had 306, Wayne Gretzky and Paul Coffey have 350.
