The Anaheim Ducks are the hottest team in hockey right now and they have a chance to extend their winning streak to seven on Tuesday.
The Anaheim Ducks are the hottest team in hockey right now and they have a chance to extend their winning streak to seven on Tuesday.
Standing in their way is the Pittsburg Penguins, who have disappointed a bit early on, going 4-6-0 this season.
The Penguins made a few splashes last summer, mainly through the addition of reigning Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson and also added reigning Cup champion Reilly Smith.
While Karlsson and Smith have started strong, a team .891 save percentage has caused this team to struggle.
The Penguins are coming off a 10-2 thrashing of the San Jose Sharks though and will come in with a lot of confidence.
Fortunately for the Ducks, they won't be short on confidence either.
The team is firing on all cylinders right now and getting contributions up and down their lineup right now.
Mason McTavish is establishing himself as a true top-six center, Leo Carlsson looks great as a rookie and Pavel Mintyukov looks like a potential Calder contender.
Things are going well for Anaheim and they can keep it rolling against Pittsburgh.
Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby are always good litmus tests for young centers too. If you can handle them, you can handle most top centers in the league.
How McTavish and Carlsson deal with those two will be interesting to watch on Tuesday.
Projected Anaheim Ducks Lines:
Forwards:
Trevor Zegras - Leo Carlsson - Troy Terry
Frank Vatrano - Mason McTavish - Ryan Strome
Adam Henrique - Benoit Olivier-Groulx - Jakub Silfverberg
Ross Johnston - Sam Carrick - Brett Leason
Defense:
Cam Fowler - Tristan Luneau
Jackson LaCombe - Radko Gudas
Pavel Mintyukov - Ilya Lyubushkin
Goalies:
Lukas Dostal
John Gibson
Projected Pittsburgh Penguins Lines:
Forwards:
Jake Guentzel - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust
Reilly Smith - Evgeni Malkin - Rickard Rakell
Drew O'Connor - Lars Eller - Radim Zohorna
Matt Nieto - Noel Acciari - Vinnie Hinostroza
Defense:
Ryan Graves - Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson - Erik Karlsson
Pierre-Olivier Joseph - Ryan Shea
Goalies:
Tristan Jarry
Magnus Hellberg