Another big game for the Penguins tonight and it has nothing to do with playing their biggest rival (well, a little bit). The divisional games are a must win at this juncture and the Penguins have three in a row starting tonight. It's time to either go on a winning streak or toil among the have-nots in the league. Do it or don't time.
The Flyers were an easy target when they were in the midst of losing ten games in a row. They have done a great job rebounding from that terrible stretch of results. They won six games in a row to dig themselves out of their self-inflicted hole. They’ve stumbled a little bit since that winning streak going 2-3-1 in their last five games. Even with the ten game losing streak the Flyers are only one point behind the Penguins with two games in hand. Yes, the Penguins are only three points out of a playoff spot, but they have played the most games in the Eastern Conference and some of the teams in the hunt with them have those games in hand. If the Penguins don’t earn four out of the next six points things are going to get tough. This month is going to make or break the team.
The Penguins will get some help tonight with the returns of Kris Letang and Justin Schultz. This is a much needed boost to the lineup. Both of these players are good moving the puck and given how starved the forwards have been for goals this should make their jobs easier.
Tristan Jarry is going to get the nod. I think this is the right call. You need to play the guy that you think is going to give you the best chance to win right now and currently that is not Matt Murray. Give him time to reset and figure some things out. Chances are good he bounces back to give the team proper goaltending.
Daniel Sprong remains on the third line and will be opposite Jake Guentzel on the wing. Guentzel has great awareness and can pass people open. What I mean by that is Guentzel is good with the geometry of hockey. He doesn’t always have to go tape to tape to get people the puck. He can place it in spots for his teammate to skate into. This should help a guy like Sprong earn time and space. Sprong’s first game back should be considered a success. He played in the other team’s zone over 70% of the time. That’s one way to avoid your defensive assignments.
Bumping Guentzel down is certainly good news for Sprong. Is it good news for Sid or Geno? It isn’t impacting 87 as much as it will 71. Malkin gets a left winger that has been in a slump for over a year and a half. It’s about that time for Carl Hagelin to earn his paycheck. The deal for Hagelin always hinged on the amount of tangible offense he was able to put up. Early returns were great. Since then abysmal. The Penguins can’t have passengers in the top nine because you’ll notice that the totally ineffective fourth line will stay intact. Dan Bylsma deserved criticism for sticking with certain ineffective players. Mike Sullivan deserves the same treatment.
Pittsburgh has to get a result tonight.
Thanks for reading!