The Pittsburgh Penguins (1-0-0) are feeling good about themselves and their new coach. They continue the young NHL season Thursday when they host the New York Islanders (0-0-0) at PPG Paints Arena.
The puck drops just after 7 p.m.
The Penguins showed more energy and hustle in their season-opening 3-0 victory over former coach Mike Sullivan and the New York Rangers on Tuesday. Justin Brazeau scored the lone goal of the game with a goalie in the net, then Brazeau and Blake Lizotte scored into empty nets in the final minute for the feel-good victory.
Arturs Silvos stopped all 25 shots for his first official NHL shutout (he also has a playoff shutout).
Evgeni Malkin had a pair of assists as the Penguins' uptempo attack eventually overwhelmed the Rangers . The Penguins outshot their opponent 15-5 in the third period, while supposedly nursing a lead.
The game was full of firsts, including Silovs's shutout, and coach Dan Muse's first NHL win, but also the NHL debuts of Ben Kindel and Harrison Brunicke . The Penguins' rookies submitted different performances, but each started the game beside Penguins legends.
Muse started Kindel on the right wing with Sidney Crosby and Malkin before moving him back to the third line center. Brunicke was beside Kris Letang before claiming the third pairing with Caleb Jones .
Based on practice on Wednesday, there will be a couple of changes to the Penguins' lineup, including the potential of Bryan Rust to return and the insertion of rookie Filip Hallander on the third line, and either Noel Acciari or Connor Dewar being the scratch.
Rust rotated with Rakell on the right side, so his return might be a few days away, but with hockey injuries, one can't be too sure.
The game marks the beginning of the Islanders' season. In the offseason, the organization fired GM Lou Lamoriello and replaced him with Mathieu Darche. On the ice, the biggest additions were Jonathan Drouin and Tony DeAngelo .
The Islanders also selected Matthew Schaefer with the first overall pick and traded defenseman Noah Dobson to the Montreal Canadiens .
TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh
Radio: 105.9 The X
Ville Koivunen- Sidney Crosby -Rickard Rakell
Anthony Mantha-Evgeni Malkin-Justin Brazeau
Thomas Novak-Ben Kindel-Filip Hallander
Philip Tomasino-Blake Lizotte-Noel Acciari/Connor Dewar
Ryan Shea- Kris Letang
Parker Wotherspoon- Erik Karlsson
Caleb Jones-Harrison Brunicke
Jonathan Drouin-Bo Horvat-Emil Heineman
Anders Lee-Matthew Barzal-Kyle Palmieri
Maxim Shabanov–Jean-Gabriel Pageau-Simon Holmstrom
Anthony Duclair-Casey Czikas-Maxim Tsyplakov
Alexander Romanov-Tony DeAngelo
Adam Pelech-Ryan Pulock
Matthew Schaefer-Scott Mayfield
Penguins Power Play: 0-for-1. 0%. Penguins Penalty Kill: 2-for-2. 100%.
Islanders Power Play: 0-for-0. Islanders Penalty Kill: 0-for-0.
*It's been a rough series for the Penguins. They are 7-6-4 in their last 17 games against the Islanders, but the Penguins have points in 11 of their last 13 games against the Islanders (8-2-3) at home.
*However, overtime is expected. The Penguins have just eight regulation losses in their last 29 matchups versus the Islanders dating back to Nov. 1, 2018 (14-8-7).
*Kris Letang is three assists shy from becoming the 20th defenseman in NHL history to notch 600 assists, and is looking to join Erik Karlsson (670), Brent Burns (649), and Victor Hedman (623) as the only active blueliners to accomplish this feat.
*Sidney Crosby (625) is currently in a three-way tie with Joe Sakic and Jarome Iginla for the 16th-most goals in NHL history.
The post Penguins Game 2, Home Opener: Lines, Notes, & How to Watch vs. Islanders appeared first on Pittsburgh Hockey Now .
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