Penguins vs. Sharks: Must Win in San Jose
The Pittsburgh Penguins take on the league's worst team in a Saturday night showdown.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are back in action and looking to return to the win column. Their opponents are a winless San Jose Sharks team, who may be the only NHL team to begin their season more poorly than the Penguins.
The Penguins dropped their last game in an extremely disappointing fashion, and there is already speculation of changes being made if this continues. The team hopes the to minimize that talk with a bounce back win against an easily beatable team. From Sidney Crosby's 1,200th career game to Erik Karlsson returning to San Jose, here's what to watch for when the Penguins and Sharks go at it.
1. Sidney Crosby Crosses Off Another Milestone
Crosby is set to become the first player in Penguins' history to play 1,200 games. The captain is the 128th player in NHL history to hit the mark and is the 10th active player to achieve this milestone.
Entering his 1,200th appearance with the Pens, he sits 15th all-time in scoring with 1,512 points. With the team needing a win, expect Sid the Veteran to continue leading the team in all zones of the ice against the Sharks.
2. Where is Rakell?
Rickard Rakell enjoyed one of the most productive seasons of his career last year with the Penguins. The beginning of this season, however, has been anything but that. Through nine games, he's collected a lone assist and has looked invisible during the games. He hasn't clicked on the wing with Evgeni Malkin in the way Reilly Smith has, and it's clear that he needs to shake it up to get his offense going.
Playing against a bottom-feeder like the Sharks is the perfect time for Rakell to get his game and production back on track.
3. Karlsson Faces Former Team
The Penguins made the biggest trade of the 2023 off-season when they acquired Karlsson from the Sharks. He's put up two multi-point efforts in the first nine games and has six points in total. Combine the output with the fact that he hasn't played less than 21 minutes in any game, and it's easy to see why Kyle Dubas was so set on bringing him to Pittsburgh.
Now, Karlsson returns with the Penguins to face his former team in San Jose. He spent five seasons as a Shark and put up 243 points in 293 games and won his third Norris Trophy as the league's top defenseman. Look for EK65 to have a big game in his return to California.
The Penguins and Sharks face-off at 10:00 p.m. at SAP Arena.
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