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Penguins Game 34, Unlucky 7: Lines, Goalies, & How to Watch vs. Canadiens
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- Penguins Game 34, Unlucky 7: Lines, Goalies, & How to Watch vs. Canadiens
Pittsburgh Penguins game vs Montreal Canadiens
MONTREAL –– A seven-game winless streak has engulfed the Pittsburgh Penguins (14-10-9). The team has been stuck on 14 wins since Dec. 4, and has squandered a half dozen leads since then. With the fabled hot dogs and history awaiting, the Penguins visit the Montreal Canadiens (18-12-4) at Centre Bell.
The puck drops just after 7 p.m.
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The Penguins trailed early and faced a 3-0 deficit before finding their game Thursday in a 4-0 loss to the Ottawa Senators . A pair of unusually bad calls victimized the Penguins. First was a tripping penalty against goalie Arturs Silovs in the first 90 seconds of the game that led to an Ottawa power play goal by Brady Tkachuk . Then in the middle of the second period, the Penguins' Kris Letang had a goal taken away by an indefensibly bad goaltender interference call and review.
Silovs was otherwise good for the Penguins, perhaps his best start in the last 10 games. He stopped 22 of 25 shots, but faced 25 scoring chances.
Montreal completed a late-night trade on Friday, just before the holiday roster freeze, acquiring disgruntled center Philip Danault from the LA Kings . The move shored up Montreal's lineup, which has been short on centers.
It's unknown if Danault will be in a bleu, blanc, et rouge sweater Saturday, but there is a buzz around the Canadiens.
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Make sure to visit our colleague Marc Dumont at Montreal Hockey Now .
Montreal is 3-1-1 in their last five games, beginning with a solid drubbing of the Penguins on Dec. 11 at PPG Paints Arena. Montreal smoked the Penguins behind rookie goalie Jacob Fowler , who made his NHL debut.
Fowler hasn't won since, and is now 1-1-1 with an .885 save percentage. Former No. 1 goalie Sam Montembeault is finishing a two-week conditioning assignment in the AHL.
In keeping a goalie rotation, Stuart Skinner is expected to start for the Penguins.
How to Watch
TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh
Radio: 105.9 The X
Expected Penguins Lines
Rickard Rakell- Sidney Crosby -Bryan Rust
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Anthony Mantha -Tommy Novak-Justin Brazeau
Rutger McGroarty-Ben Kindel-Kevin Hayes
Connor Dewar-Danton Heinen-Noel Acciari
Defense
Parker Wotherspoon- Erik Karlsson
Ryan Shea- Kris Letang
Ryan Graves-Connor Clifton
Goalie: Stuart Skinner, expected
Expected Canadiens Lines
Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki -Zachary Bolduc
Juraj Slafkovsky-Oliver Kapanen-Ivan Demidov
Alex Texier-Jake Evans-Brendan Gallagher
Joe Veleno-Owen Beck-Josh Anderson
Defense
Jayden Struble-Noah Dobson
Lane Hutson-Alex Carrier
Arber Xhekaj-Adam Engstrom
Goaltender: Jacob Fowler, expected
Special Teams
Penguins' power play: 30.4%, 3rd. Penguins penalty kill: 81.4%, 15th.
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Canadiens power play: 25.5%, 6th. Senators' penalty kill: 77.3%, 25th.
Penguins Game Notes
The Penguins have wins in six of their last seven against the Canadiens (6-1-0) dating back to Dec. 13, 2023, and have points in 11 consecutive visits to the Bell Centre (8-0-3).
Anthony Mantha, a Longueuil, Quebec native, has 19 points (11-8-19) in 24 career games against the Canadiens, and four game-winning goals.
Sidney Crosby remains one point shy of tying Mario Lemieux for the Penguins' all-time leading scorer (1723) and eighth on the NHL all-time list.
Erik Karlsson has points in five of his last six games (2-5-7) and has 10 points (2G-8A) in nine games in December.
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The post Penguins Game 34, Unlucky 7: Lines, Goalies, & How to Watch vs. Canadiens appeared first on Pittsburgh Hockey Now .
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