DENVER– The Pittsburgh Penguins (3-3-1) have moved forward from the struggles of last year’s winning team, but unlike last season, they have yet to find the chemistry and cohesion to counterbalance them. The Penguins’ wild swings continue Friday when they visit the perennial Stanley Cup contender, the Colorado Avalanche (4-2-1) at Ball Arena.
Puck drops just after 9 p.m. ET.
To say the Penguins have had their ups and downs would be too cliché. The Penguins have had their ups and downs before, from a 7-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on opening night to several stunning performances, including another blow Tuesday when they lost 5-3 to the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center.
Sidney Crosby ended his scoreless streak by scoring two goals. Still, it was another mediocre effort from the Penguins.
Evgeni Malkin scolded the team.
“It’s the same as last year. We had a good game, one game down. You know, we played a good game against Dallas, and (Tuesday) they scored on the first shot, and we weren’t ready to play,” Malkin said. “And yeah, we had so many turnovers, so many mistakes, and we probably deserved to lose tonight. And again, we have to play better every night.”
This inconsistency made the group infuriating. Coach Dan Muse is trying to solve the Penguins’ roster puzzle and will likely make a few more changes Friday. Based on Thursday’s practice, Elmer Soderblom will occupy the fourth line, Nick Robertson will move up to the third line with Ben Kindel and Ville Koivunen will get nachos from the press box (but Colorado, they only have chips).
Read also: Something is wrong with the Penguins
At Thursday’s practice, the team spent a lot of time on the power play. After starting the season 4-for-8, the team is 0-for-16.
Colorado lost to the Dallas Stars 3-2 in a shootout on Wednesday. Gabriel Landeskog scored in the second period, deflecting a Nazem Kadri shot, and Brock Nelson tied the game in the third after Dallas took the lead.
Colorado goalkeeper Scott Wedgewood made 20 saves. Kadri scored Colorado’s goal in the shootout, but Roope Hintz won it for Dallas in the fourth round.
Muse will announce the starting goaltender following the optional morning skate at 1:30 p.m. ET. However, it will likely be Arturs Silovs, since the Penguins will also play Saturday in Vegas.
UPDATE: Arturs Silovs is online.
How to watch
Television: SportsNet Pittsburgh
Radio: 105.9 The
Penguin Lines
Rickard Rakell-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust
Egor Chinakhov-Tommy Novak-Evgeni Malkin
Andrei Kuzmenko-Ben Kindel-Nick Robertson
Connor Dewar-Blake Lizotte-Elmer Soderblom
Defense
Declan Carlile-Erik Karlsson
Sam Girard-Kaeden Korczak
Spencer Stastney-Kris Letang
Goalkeeper: Silov.
Avalanche lines
Artturi Lehkonen-Nathan MacKinnon-Martin Necas
Gabriel Landeskog–Brock Nelson–Nazem Kadri
Jaden Schwartz – Fedor Svechkov – TJ Hughes
Parker Kelly-Gavin Brindley
Defense
Devon Toews-Cale Makar
Brett Kulak-Sam Malinski
Josh Manson-Brent Burns
Goalkeeper: to be determined
Special teams
Penguins power play: 16.7% (T-19). Penguins penalty kill: 89.5% (T-7)
Avalanche Power Play: 20% (T-15). Numerical disadvantage in avalanche: 82.4% (15th)
Penguins Game Notes
Nick Robertson leads the Penguins with four goals and a plus-6 rating. Erik Karlsson leads the team with seven points, all assists.
Former Avalanche defenseman Sam Girard is also off to a good start with six points (1-5-6) in seven games.
Over the past five seasons, the Penguins are 2-2-1 in Colorado, including a surprising 7-2 win last year. In his brief career, Silovs is 1-1-0 against Colorado with a .875 save percentage.
Malkin leads the Penguins with 27 career points (10-17-27) in 25 games. Crosby has 25.
Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon has 30 points (11-19-30) in 24 career games against the Penguins.
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