Despite entering Thursday (Nov. 16) night’s game riding a five-game win streak, the Pittsburgh Penguins saw that streak snapped as the visiting New Jersey Devils doused the hot Penguins 5-2. On the bright side, the line of Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel, and Bryan Rust continued scoring, with Rust providing both the team’s goals. Yet, coming out on the losing end soured their success.
Now 8-7-0, the Penguins travel to Raleigh tonight (Nov. 18) to take on the Carolina Hurricanes. Normally one of the powerhouses of the Eastern Conference, at 9-7-0, the Hurricanes have not asserted themselves yet early this season. That said, they did shut out the Tampa Bay Lightning in Tampa last Saturday, Nov. 11, by a score of 4-0. However, they dropped their last game to the upstart Philadelphia Flyers 3-1 on Nov. 15.
With both the Penguins and Hurricanes coming off setbacks, they are looking to stay in the playoff hunt as we near American Thanksgiving. The Hurricanes enter the game in 7th place in the East, and the Penguins are 11th in the crowded field, but only two points separate them in the standings.
Setting the Stage: Lineups, Injuries & Stats
The Penguins recently activated both defenseman John Ludvig and backup goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic from injured reserve and then sent them down to Wilkes-Barre of the American Hockey League (AHL) for conditioning. In his first game in Wilkes-Barre on Friday (Nov. 17), Nedeljkovic not only got the 4-2 victory against the Providence Bruins, but he scored a goal in the game.
Beyond that, Jeff Carter remains a scratch, the Penguins may need to address their third defensive pairing, and Rickard Rakell remains in the lineup despite trade rumors burbling as he continues his ice-cold start.
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For the Hurricanes, their most recent roster change was sending center Ryan Suzuki to the Springfield Thunderbirds of the AHL. Suzuki has yet to play in the NHL.
Injuries
- Penguins: Will Butcher (undisclosed, the Penguins placed Butcher on injured reserve), Jeff Carter (lower body), Mark Pysyk (lower body, the Penguins placed Pysyk on injured reserve)
- Hurricanes: Frederik Andersen (blood clotting, the Hurricanes placed Andersen on injured reserve)
Interesting Stats and Facts
- The Crosby line accounted for both Penguins goals against the Devils, with Rust bringing his season total to nine goals after netting the two. With 15 points in as many games, he looks to be a different player than the one who struggled to find the net a year ago. However, he has not registered a single point on special teams this season.
- Guentzel picked up the only assist on Rust’s first goal, and Crosby picked up a secondary helper on Rust’s second. With 20 and 19 points, Crosby and Guentzel, respectively, remain the team’s most dangerous scorers. Crosby now has a 10-game points streak with 15 points, and Guentzel has a six-game streak with 10 points. However, they each have earned only one power play assist during their runs.
- Erik Karlsson was the only other Penguin point-getter against the Devils, with the primary assist on Rust’s second goal. He now has four goals and 12 points over his seven-game points streak, bringing his season totals to five goals and 16 points through 15 games. He is producing on the power play, with two goals and two assists with the man advantage during this hot streak.
- For the Hurricanes, their offense is underwater, scoring one less goal (51) than they have allowed this season. Jesperi Kotkaniemi currently leads the team with 13 points on six goals and seven assists in 16 games. Sebastian Aho also has 13 points, though he has scored four goals through 13 games.
- Teuvo Teräväinen is currently pacing the Hurricanes’ offense with nine goals, but he has picked up only one assist. Since returning to the lineup, Andrei Svechnikov has not managed to find the back of the net, with only four assists in eight games for the dangerous Russian winger.
- Tristan Jarry has a reputation for being up-and-down. Thursday’s performance against the Devils was a down. He surrendered five goals, including a shorthanded tally by Curtis Lazar, on 31 shots for only a .839 save percentage (SV%). On the season, he is now 6-6-0 with a 2.56 goals-against average (GAA) and a .910 SV% to go along with his NHL-leading three shutouts.
- For the Hurricanes, their defense has been middling due in part to the absence of Brett Pesce on the blue line for eight games. In net, Antti Raanta is 4-2-0 with a 3.01 GAA and only a .877 SV%. Pyotr Kochetkov is 1-4-0 with a 3.11 GAA and a .876 SV%. His win was the shutout against the Lightning, though he lost to the Flyers.
Penguins vs. Hurricanes Storylines
One area where the Penguins could sorely use some improvement is their power play. Through 15 games, they have produced only seven goals with the man advantage and currently sit at 24th in the NHL with a 16.7% efficiency. They could capitalize against a Hurricanes team that is 17th on the penalty kill with only a 78.6% rate.
For the Hurricanes, Martin Nečas is one player looking for the typically strong defensively Hurricanes to go on a run. He isn’t producing badly with five goals and 12 points, though it is down from the 71-point breakout season he is coming off of. Right now, however, he has the worst plus/minus among forwards with a minus-9
This is the first of four meetings between the two teams, with their next game in December. After tonight, the Hurricanes will host the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday (Nov. 22), and the Penguins will host the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday (Nov. 19). Puck drops tonight at 7:00 PM EST.
