The Pittsburgh Penguins travel to Minnesota for their first matchup of the season.
The Pittsburgh Penguins look to snap another losing streak in their first contest against the Minnesota Wild. These two teams meet with similar records and heading in opposite directions.
The Wild (7-7-2) stumbled out of the gate this season, losing three of their first four games, but have battled to fourth place in the Central Division. The Penguins (6-7-3) are struggling to produce offense, with the exception of their second line, and are playing weak defense in front of both goaltenders. As the Penguins try to get back to a .500 record, here's three things to watch for.
1. Play with Desperation and Urgency
16 games into the season, the Penguins have lacked a sense of urgency to their play. While their poise and confidence through adversity is admirable, this team needs to find an early injection of desperation to their game. It needs to happen quickly, before the division lead becomes unattainable.
Despite the confidence in his team, Captain Sidney Crosby echoed the need for urgency in the room in recent media sessions. He stated about the imminent game in Minnesota: “If anything you know you’re getting a team that’s urgent and desperate...we should be, too.” With this matchup against the Wild, the Pens have an excellent chance to set the tone and play with urgency on both sides of the ice.
2. Zucker Running Wild
Jason Zucker is playing the best hockey of his Pittsburgh career to begin the season. He has a chance to keep his hot streak going against his former team, the Minnesota Wild. Zucker and center Evgeni Malkin are forming a dynamic duo on the second line, and Zucker has a chance to establish career numbers if they keep this up.
In the month of November, Zucker has a four game point streak, and registered points in six of seven games this month. His 14 points in 14 games rank third on the team in points, and he is currently on a point per game pace. The Penguins will continue to ride the hot-hand of Zucker and Malkin as they look to snap another mini losing streak.
3. Goaltending Struggles on Both Sides
The Penguins are seeking answers in net. Tristan Jarry continues to struggle as he works through an undisclosed lower-body injury, and backup Casey DeSmith is simply not a viable long-term replacement. Jarry should get his next shot at steadying the ship against the Wild, and it will be interesting to see if his health and vision hold up.
Across the ice, the Wild have their own goaltending troubles. Starter Marc-Andre Fleury was placed on injured reserve with an upper-body injury. The 37 year-old is enjoying another solid season for the up and down Wild, posting a record of 6-4-1 with a 2.80 goals-against average and .906 save percentage.
That will leave former Penguin's draft pick, Filip Gustavsson as the starter for the Wild this matchup. The 24 year-old is 1-3-1 with a .914 save percentage this season serving as the backup to Fleury. An interesting statistic to note: Gustavsson's lone win this season came on the road, and he is 0-2 in both home starts.
The puck drops at 8:00PM for this match-up between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Minnesota Wild.
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