Penguins at Golden Knights
The Vegas Golden Knights have cooled off a bit since their seven-game winning streak, losing two of their last three contests, but look to snap out of that funk when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. The Golden Knights come in well-rested, playing for the first time since Tuesday’s 4-1 setback at Winnipeg, and hope to improve on their 8-4-1 record against Metropolitan Division foes.
Vegas registered 44 shots but went 0-for-6 on the power play against the Jets, prompting coach Gerard Gallant to tell reporters: “We kept playing, we had lots of shots and lots of chances, and their goalie (Laurent Brossoit) was outstanding. That was the difference.” The Penguins look to match the result of the first meeting on Oct. 11, when they knocked off the Golden Knights 4-2 despite being outshot 37-22, and can finish their five-game road trip with a winning record. Pittsburgh ended a two-game slide with a 3-2 overtime victory at Arizona on Friday as Phil Kessel scored the winning goal on the power play 4:10 into the extra session. Jake Guentzel also scored for Pittsburgh to push his team-leading total to 24 tallies, with eight of them coming in the same amount of games this month.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet-Pittsburgh, AT&T SportsNet-Rocky Mountain (Vegas)
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (26-15-6): Captain Sidney Crosby, who tops the team with 56 points, and Evgeni Malkin (team-high 37 assists) helped set up the winner by Kessel, who is one goal shy of reaching 20 for the 11th straight season. Rookie Juuso Riikola scored his second NHL goal on Friday while fellow defenseman Marcus Pettersson, who was acquired from Anaheim in early December, recorded his seventh assist in eight games this month. Matt Murray posted his 10th win in 11 decisions on Friday, which could give Saturday’s start to Casey DeSmith (12-8-4, .921 save percentage).
ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS (28-17-4): While two of the team's top four scorers have cooled off and one is injured, Alex Tuch has taken over the club lead with 37 points - 11 over his last 10 contests. Jonathan Marchessault has notched just one of his 31 points in seven contests this month and linemate William Karlsson, who shares the team lead with Tuch at 15 goals, is mired in an eight-game point drought. Marc-Andre Fleury has gone 6-2-0 with a .933 save percentage in his last eight starts and could have more help in front of him as defenseman Colin Miller (undisclosed) is close to returning from a 13-game absence.
OVERTIME
1. Pittsburgh C Joseph Blandisi registered two shots, one hit and a block in 6 minutes, 47 seconds of ice time during his debut with the club on Friday.
2. Vegas C Brandon Pirri, who has recorded eight goals and five assists in 11 games this season, is riding a six-game point streak.
3. The Penguins produced a pair of power-play goals Friday for the first time in nine games and are 4-for-13 over their last four contests.