The Pittsburgh Penguins face-off against the Vegas Golden Knights for the first time this season.
The Pittsburgh Penguins continue their five game home stand this week, welcoming the Vegas Golden Knights to PPG Paints Arena for the first time this season. The Penguins (11-8-4) have dropped two straight games, most recently in overtime against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Golden Knights (17-6-1) enter Pittsburgh with the best record in the Western Conference.
1. Playing for Kris Letang
The Penguins sent out a saddening update with the news that All-Star defensemen Kris Letang is out indefinitely after suffering a stroke. Despite not experiencing any lasting effects, according to the team release, both head coach Mike Sullivan and general manager Ron Hextall spoke at length about putting Letang the human first and there being no time table for his return. We wish him a speedy recovery.
Without their top defenseman, the Penguins will need the other six defenseman on the roster to step up. The top pairing of Letang and Marcus Pettersson was showing impressive chemistry and providing results, and now the Penguins must figure out new pairings. Pettersson was paired with Jeff Petry to begin the season, but was playing alongside Jan Rutta against the Hurricanes. Coach Sullivan will now need to reconfigure his defensive lineup with limited options.
Depending on the length of Letang's absence, it could provide an opportunity for defenseman Ty Smith to be called up. Only time will tell, but in the immediate future, the Penguins will need to pick up the pieces and scratch out a win without one of their best players.
2. Jack Eichel Reclaiming Respect
Over the past few seasons, the hockey world seemed to forget about Jack Eichel. Between injuries keeping him off the ice and his unceremonious exit from Buffalo, Eichel's stock dropped across the league. This season, however, Eichel is re-establishing himself as one of the best players in hockey. In 24 games, he's registered 11 goals and 26 points.
The Penguins will need to find a way to minimize Eichel's impact if they want to win this game. Without number one defensemen Letang in the lineup, the Pens will look to defend by committee against this dynamic offense led by Eichel.
3. Goaltender Battle
With the Penguins goaltending playing much better in the last two weeks, this game has all the makings of a battle between the pipes. Tristan Jarry has stepped up since recovering from his nagging injury. Since November 17th, Jarry ranks second in the league in wins and goals against average (GAA) and leads all goalies in save percentage. He's stopped over 96% of the shots he's faced in his last four starts.
Across the rink, the Golden Knights breakout player this season is goaltender Logan Thompson. Stepping up to fill vacant crease left by Robin Lehner, Thompson has been a revelation in net. He's started 16 games so far this season, winning 12 and posting an impressive 2.44 GAA and .921 save percentage. With both teams getting such solid goaltending lately, it will be interesting to see if either of them can steal this matchup.
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