The Penguins welcome the Carolina Hurricanes for their second meeting this week and third meeting of the season.
The Pittsburgh Penguins conclude another brief home stand with their second matchup in four days against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Hurricanes (20-6-6) are looking to remain perfect against the Penguins (19-9-4). Meanwhile, the Penguins hope to exact some revenge on the Hurricanes and keep up their reign over their fellow Metropolitan Division. Here's three things to watch for in the Penguins last game before their holiday break.
1. Penguins Defending Home Ice
Entering this matchup against the Hurricanes, the Penguins are sporting a six game winning streak at home. The Penguins are no strangers to defending home ice, as this streak is the longest of its kind since an eight game home winning streak last season. The current streak has helped the team go 8-1 in the month of December. The Pens will look to extend their streak to seven games and earn their first win of the season against Carolina.
2. Jeff Carter and Evgeni Malkin's Big Milestones
Penguins center Jeff Carter is set to skate in his 1200th game against the Carolina Hurricanes. The 37 year-old will become the eighth member of his draft class to achieve this milestone. So far in his career he has 821 career points,
Evgeni Malkin also had cause for celebration, as he tied Sergei Federov for second most points among Russian-born players. Malkin's 1,179 points now only trail his comrade, Alexander Ovechkin. Malkin will look to take sole possession of second place with a point against the Hurricanes.
3. Household name Stefan Noesen
When you think of the Hurricanes, the first names that come to mind are understandably Sebastien Aho, Jordan Staal, or Brent Burns. But what if I told you the team's fifth leading scorer this year is former Penguin Stefan Noesen? The 29 year-old former first round pick suited up for six games in the black and gold in 2019-2020, and is enjoying his most productive stretch of hockey in his NHL career.
Noesen has 16 points in 31 games, and has four points in his last four games. The Hurricanes have a balanced lineup with scoring threats everywhere. The Penguin will need to keep an eye on Noesen, and not overlook any of the Hurricanes lines, if they want to secure a victory.
The Penguins and Hurricanes face-off at 7:00PM at PPG Paints Arena.
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