The Los Angeles Kings will pay their lone visit to Pittsburgh tonight. The Kings are in a transition year after firing both their GM Dean Lombardi and their Head Coach Darryl Sutter. The Kings were one of the better possession teams during Sutter’s tenure, but they also had a miserable shooting percentage for most of that time period. They are now the 17th ranked possession team and are on the outside of the playoffs right now. It’s been a weird year for the Kings because their shooting percentage is now in the top half of the league and their save percentage is top five. They have a +22 goal differential, yet the standings aren’t where they want that to be. Further hampering things for LA is that Jeff Carter has been out of the lineup since October 18th and only has three assists on the year. He is one of their best players.
Dustin Brown is having a bounce back season offensively. He already has more points than he’s had in any season since 2011-12. Offense isn’t the only thing he’s good at these days. He’s also still great at delivering cheap shots, a real pain in the royal ass. The Penguins will have to be aware of when he’s on the ice because he might just try to get one of the Pittsburgh player’s knees to explode or he'll just blow somebody up from behind like he did to Justin Schultz. He’s a dirty player and he will continue to play the same way as long as the league refuses to suspend him longer than a single game or continue to give him lame fines that amount to what would cost us normal folks $50.
The Penguins will be debuting some new line combos this evening
#Pens workflow at morning skate:
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) February 15, 2018
ZAR-Crosby-Sheary
Hagelin-Malkin-Rust
Guentze-Sheahan-Kessel
Simon-Rowney-Reaves
Dumoulin-Letang
Maatta-Schultz
Cole-Oleksiak
Hunwick-Ruhwedel
-SK
After scoring two goals Zach Aston-Reese won’t be getting the fourth line treatment. He is just like the main character in the movie I’m showing in health class, Homeless to Harvard. Dominik Simon is now homeless, good luck down there.
Patric Hornqvist was skating today in a non-contact jersey. Getting closer to his return to the lineup. Hopefully the team keeps the WB/S players in the lineup and bench some of the other dead weight.
Who wants trade rumors?
With the NHL trade deadline approaching, @JoshYohe_PGH takes a look at six players the Penguins could consider adding: https://t.co/iCoL1EAEEr
— The Athletic (@TheAthleticPGH) February 15, 2018
“We would like to add someone there for insurance and to have some more depth down the middle,… he said.…
Straight from the GM. I can’t help but think they are hoping for Matt Cullen here. Not sure that’s going to help.
Thanks for reading!