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Penguins Game 31, Stop the Insanity; Lines, Notes, & How to Watch vs. Mammoth
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- Penguins Game 31, Stop the Insanity; Lines, Notes, & How to Watch vs. Mammoth
Pittsburgh Penguins game vs. Utah Mammoth
The Pittsburgh Penguins (14-8-8) set a low-water mark Saturday when they squandered a 5-1 third-period lead and lost in overtime to the rebuilding San Jose Sharks , 6-5. The loss mystified coach Dan Muse and players alike, and Muse stepped forward to point the first finger of blame at himself. The Penguins get another crack at victory this weekend when they host the Utah Mammoth at PPG Paints Arena.
The puck drops just after 3 p.m., and Mr. Jeff Jimmerson sings the National Anthem.
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Saturday was a jaw-dropping spectacle of lost leads befitting a spot in a Ripley's museum. The Penguins led 5-1 with 13 minutes remaining. They led 5-2 with six minutes remaining, yet their extraordinary struggle against the extra attacker was their undoing, and San Jose scored a pair of goals with an empty net to tie the game.
If you're wondering how and HOW?! The PHN Penguins Report Card went in-depth.
The Penguins staked themselves a 4-1 lead after two periods and were outshooting San Jose 34-13. It was a beatdown.
Sidney Crosby , Rutger McGroarty , Kevin Hayes , Bryan Rust , and Anthony Mantha scored. Crosby is now two points shy of tying Mario Lemieux's franchise record with 1723 points.
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However, the meltdown began midway through the third period as San Jose scored four goals in 10:49. And it ended when John Klingberg and Macklin Celebrini worked a give-and-go for an easy winner at 2:57 of overtime.
Penguins goalie Arturs Silovs made a few breakaway saves, but also allowed a few bad goals. He stopped 26 of 32. Silovs has one win and six extra-time losses in his last 10 games.
Emergency call-up Sergei Murashov is expected to start Sunday if newly acquired Stuart Skinner is not yet available due to immigration visa issues.
Defenseman Brett Kulak is also awaiting his visa after being acquired with Skinner from Edmonton on Friday.
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Utah ended a three-game losing streak Friday with a home win over the Seattle Kraken , 5-3. Nick Schmaltz , JJ Peterka , Kailer Yamamoto , Lawson Crouse , and Dylan Guenther lit the lamp in Salt Lake City.
Karel Vejmelka stopped 33 of 36 shots for the win. However, Seattle is quickly slipping out of the playoff race and trails the Western Conference second wild ( LA Kings ) by five points.
The Penguins will announce if Skinner and/or Kulak will be available today by 1 p.m.
How to Watch
TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh , NHL Network
Radio: 105.9 The X
Expected Penguins Lines
Rickard Rakell-Sidney Crosby- Bryan Rust
Rutger McGroarty -Ben Kindel-Justin Brazeau
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Ville Koivunen-Tommy Novak-Anthony Mantha
Connor Dewar-Kevin Hayes-Noel Acciari
Defense
Parker Wotherspoon-Erik Karlsson
Ryan Shea-Kris Letang
Ryan Graves-Connor Clifton
Goalie: Sergie Murashov, expected
Expected Mammoth Lines
Clayton Keller-Nick Schmaltz-JJ Peterka
Lawson Crouse-Barrett Hayton-Dylan Guenther
Michael Carcone-Jack McBain-Daniil But
Liam O'Brien-Kevin Stenlund-Kailer Yamamoto
Defense
Mikhail Sergachev-Sean Durzi
Nate Schmidt- John Marino
Goalie: Karel Vejmelka, expected
Special Teams
Penguins' power play: 32.9%, 1st. Penguins penalty kill: 84.3%, 5th.
Mammoth power play: 15.4%, 27th. Mammoth penalty kill: 83.5%, 7th.
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Penguins Game Notes
Sidney Crosby is two points from tying Mario Lemieux for the franchise's all-time points leader, and three points from breaking the record.
Utah has three former Penguins defensemen, including a pair from the 2016- 2017 back-to-back Stanley Cup championships. Ian Cole and Olli Maatta have Penguins Stanley Cup rings. John Marino began his career with the Penguins in 2019-20.
Despite the repeated late-game collapses, the Penguins have points in eight of their last 10 games (4-2-4)
Today, the Penguins conclude their fifth set of back-to-back games. So far,
they are 2-3-4 in back-to-backs (2-1-2 on the first night and 0-2-2 on the
second night).
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Crosby's next even-strength goal will surpass Phil Esposito (448) forsole possession of the ninth-most even-strength goals in NHL history.
The post Penguins Game 31, Stop the Insanity; Lines, Notes, & How to Watch vs. Mammoth appeared first on Pittsburgh Hockey Now .
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