The undefeated Penguins will host their second game of the season against the defending Eastern Conference champions. Benefiting the Penguins for the matchup are two related factors. the first is that Tampa played last night against the Blue Jackets. The second is that Andrei Vasilevskiy also played. If you’re going to face the defending conference champs you might as well have some things go in your favor.
Additionally, this is not the same Tampa team we’ve been used to. The salary cap has shaved pieces away from the Lightning for a number of years. It is the reality of being one of the best teams in the league. We saw it first hand in Pittsburgh. Gone are difference makers Ryan McDonagh and Ondrej Palat. Jan Rutta, the current Penguin, is also a player who has moved on from Tampa.
Tampa still has Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman, and Brayden Point. So this isn’t some kind of pushover team. The Penguins and Lightning are more similar than not being top heavy with depth questions. Tampa has the better goaltending situation because they have close to the best goalie, if not the, best goalie in the league. This should be a good matchup.
Things were fun on Thursday night. It was a perfect season opener. Get all the fan favorites on the scoresheet in a blowout win. Tonight, we are going to learn more about the Penguins than that game by default. Tampa is a real NHL team. Arizona might hit double digit wins. Can Pittsburgh’s top six dominate again? They are a really good collection of players and I wouldn’t put it past them.
Pittsburgh is very likely running back the same lineup they had. Doesn’t look like Teddy Blueger will be back in the lineup tonight. He was on the ice earlier this morning
You can hear Hennes/Blueger talking between drills, Hennes asked how Blueger felt as the day went on yesterday after practice, Blueger said "I felt fine," Hennes asked if yesterday was the best he's felt in his rehab, Blueger said, "I'd say the day before was."
— Taylor Haase (@TaylorHaasePGH) October 15, 2022
As for Tampa Bay their lineup is courtesy of Daily Faceoff
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