The Pittsburgh Penguins take on the Detroit Red Wings in their second of back-to-back games.
The Pittsburgh Penguins played one of their worst games of the season against the New York Islanders. They have limited time to make adjustments, as they play for the second night in a row against the Detroit Red Wings. The Red Wings (14-11-7) enter this game with a 3-5-2 record over their last 10 games. Meanwhile, the Penguins (19-9-5) have dropped two straight games and will try to quickly recover from their most recent loss. Here's three things to watch for as these teams clash for the first time this season.
1. Can't Get Much Worse Than That, Right?
The Penguins laid an absolute stinker in their most recent game against the Islanders. They were outplayed in every zone and situation for the entirety of the game. While losing 5-1, without the stellar play of goaltender Tristan Jarry, the Penguins would've easily lost by seven or eight goals.
The good news is they can't play much worse than they did in New York. The bad news is, possibly, they have another game to play without any time to practice in between. The Penguins will look to improve in every facet against the Red Wings, and hope to come away with a much better performance than the one they had against the Islanders.
2. Penguins Bottom Six Becoming Top Problem
The Penguins need to see improvements from their bottom six, or they will be in for another loss. Aside from Brock McGinn, the rest of the Penguins' third and fourth lines are struggling to find consistency. Injuries to Ryan Poehling and Josh Archibald are causing further disruptions to the Pens' bottom six.
If the Penguins want to pull a win out of Detroit, they'll need production and improved play from all six forwards on the bottom two lines. In particular, Jeff Carter, Teddy Blueger, Drew O'Connor, and Danton Heinen must start contributing and put the puck in the net to help sustain the Penguins' current success.
3. Get to Husso's Crease
The Red Wings' attempt to solidify their goaltending position in the offseason seems to be working, as starting goaltender Ville Husso is enjoying an impressive first season with the Wings. In 23 starts, he's won 12 games and is posting a respectable 2.72 goals against average and .912 save percentage.
The Penguins will need to find.a way to beat the Red Wings' goaltender in this matchup. At 6'3, Husso is a large goalie and uses his size well to track pucks and take up space in his crease. In order to counteract that, the Penguins forwards have to obstruct Husso's vision and create traffic in front of the net. If they can do that, they may be able to get him off his game and put some pucks behind him.
The Penguins and Red Wings face-off at 7:30PM.
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