Penguins at Flames
The Pittsburgh Penguins shut down Auston Matthews and Toronto before outslugging Connor McDavid and Edmonton to emerge victorious in the first two contests of their four-game trek through Canada. The Penguins look to continue their good fortune on Thursday when they carry a five-game point streak (3-0-2) into the Scotiabank Saddledome to face the Calgary Flames.
Captain Sidney Crosby continued Pittsburgh's surge in grand fashion, capping a two-goal performance with a highlight-reel backhanded tally in overtime of Tuesday's 6-5 win over the Oilers. "We want to really build some momentum here," the two-time Hart Trophy winner said. "I think you're just ready to compete, especially on a road trip like this. It's big games every night. I think you just try to get up for them and expect anything." The Flames were left licking their wounds after Tuesday's 3-2 setback to Montreal, much to the chagrin of alternate captain Matthew Tkachuk. "That's an embarrassing effort. That's a bad way to play," the 20-year-old Tkachuk told the Calgary Sun. "Myself included, lazy plays in front of our net in our zone, and they get ahead of us. And taking long shifts, myself included. We're getting out there, we're tired, and they just keep getting these chances. And eventually, they're going to go in."
TV: 9 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet-Pittsburgh, Sportsnet West (Calgary)
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (4-1-2): Like Crosby, Patric Hornqvist also netted his first two goals of the season versus the Oilers while defenseman Jamie Oleksiak also tallied twice to raise his goal total to three. The 31-year-old Hornqvist netted his team's lone goal in a 2-1 overtime loss to Calgary on Nov. 2, but fellow forward Evgeni Malkin ignited the offense in the rematch with a three-point performance (one goal, two assists) in a 4-3 overtime victory on March 5. Malkin notched an assist against Edmonton to extend his point streak to five games (two goals, eight assists).
ABOUT THE FLAMES (5-4-0): Prior to blasting his own team's performance, Tkachuk set up a pair of goals to seize the team lead in assists (nine) and pull into a tie with Johnny Gaudreau in points (12). The 25-year-old Gaudreau failed to dent the scoresheet on Tuesday for the just the second time this season, although he had a pair of assists in 2017-18 versus the Penguins. Fellow forward Mikael Backlund had a pair of assists against the Canadiens, giving him six points (one goal, five assists) in his last six games.
OVERTIME
1. Pittsburgh RW Phil Kessel, who notched a pair of assists in the most recent contest against Calgary, has recorded multi-point performances in four of seven games this season.
2. Flames G David Rittich has turned aside 81 of 85 shots in his last two contests.
3. Penguins D Kris Letang collected two goals and three assists in his last four games.