The Pittsburgh Penguins (8-4-2) were gassed by the third period of their four-game road trip that concluded with a disastrous third period and regulation loss Monday against the Toronto Maple Leafs . Thursday, fresher legs will hit home ice as the Penguins host the Washington Capitals (7-5-1) at PPG Paints Arena.
Note the later time, the puck drops just after 7:30 p.m.
The Penguins held a commanding 3-0 lead after two periods Monday against Toronto, but the long road trip caught up with them and they faceplanted in the third period. Defenseman Erik Karlsson said they "were out of gas" and making bad decisions.
Toronto roared back to win 4-3 in regulation. The Penguins concluded the trip 1-2-1.
Injuries have also mounted for the Penguins. In addition to top-line winger Rickard Rakell missing at least another month, forwards Justin Brazeau and Noel Acciari , and goalie Tristan Jarry were placed on injured reserve Tuesday.
The forwards will be out at least three weeks, and Jarry will be out at least four. Forward Filip Hallander is also out day-to-day.
In Jarry's place, the Penguins recalled top goalie prospect Sergei Murashov. The team also recalled Danton Heinan and Joona Koppanen to fill the forward spots. Left-handed defenseman Ryan Graves also got the recall as the Penguins demoted Owen Pickering .
The Capitals beat the St. Louis Blues 6-1 on Wednesday at Capital One Arena. Alex Ovechkin scored his all-time leading 900th career goal. However, there was a little bit of drama to the goal as St. Louis goalie Jordan Binnington hid the puck in his hockey pants before giving it up.
Logan Thompson stopped 23 of 24 shots in the Capitals' win. Backup Charlie Lindgren figures to start the second half of the back-to-backs Thursday for the Capitals.
The Capitals are 1-3-1 in their last five. The Capitals are also dealing with the long-term injury of center Pierre-Luc Dubois , who is expected to miss most of the season.
Of note, Penguins rookie defenseman Harrison Brunicke will not play Thursday. He has played nine games, and the Penguins are admittedly still deciding if the best course of action is to keep him in the NHL or return him to juniors. His 10th NHL game played would enact his entry-level contract.
Don't shoot the messenger, but it's a streaming game.
TV: ESPN+
Radio: 105.9 The X
Ben Kindel-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust
Anthony Mantha- Evgeni Malkin -Tommy Novak
Ville Koivunen-Danton Heinen- Philip Tomasino
Connor Dewar-Blake Lizotte-Joona Koppanen
Parker Wotherspoon-Erik Karlsson
Ryan Shea-Kris Letang
Ryan Graves-Connor Clifton
Goalie: Arturs Silovs , Confirmed.
Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome-Anthony Beauvillier
Aliaksei Protas-Connor McMichael-Tom Wilson
Sonny Milano-Hendrix Lapierre-Ryan Leonard
Brandon Duhaime-Nic Dowd-Justin Sourdif
Martin Fehervary-John Carlson
Jakob Chychrun-Matt Roy
Rasmus Sandin-Trevor van Riemsdyk
Goalie: Charlie Lindgren, probable
Penguins power play: 32.4%, 2nd. Penguins penalty kill: 83:3%, 9th.
Capitals power play: 16.3%, 23rd. Capitals penalty kill: 76.9%, 20th.
The series has been its typical even warfare. The Penguins are 6-4-1 in their last 11 against the Capitals.
Evgeni Malkin has 81 points (27-54-81) in 66 career games against theCapitals. It's the third-most points he's scored against any one team.
Philip Tomasino has six points (2-4-6) in eight career games againstWashington. It's the highest total versus any opponent in his career.
The Penguins' penalty kill has been lights out, allowing just one power-play goal against over its last six games (16-for-17, 94.1%).
The post Penguins Game 15, Streaming Hell; Lines, Notes & How to Watch vs. Capitals appeared first on Pittsburgh Hockey Now .
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