The Colorado Avalanche will be a tough challenge for the Pittsburgh Penguins coming out of break.
PITTSBURGH - The Pittsburgh Penguins are finally back in action after their bye week and are hopeful to press the reset button for the final stretch of the season.
Despite hoping for a good return to the ice, the Penguins are going to be tested right away as the Colorado Avalanche are the first opponent on the docket.
The Avalanche are having a tough season loaded with injuries, but they’re still the defending Stanley Cup Champions and still have a number of outstanding players.
The Penguins, while looking for a reset, understand the battle they have in front of them.
“It’s a great challenge,” head coach Mike Sullivan said. “This is one of the elite teams in the league. They have game breakers. It’s a great challenge for us.”
Sullivan believes that the challenge and excitement to be back will be there, but the Penguins need to play a simple game and become hard to play against again.
“Coming off a break like we just had, it’s important to keep the game simple,” Sullivan said. “Manage the puck the right way, make sure we watch our shift lengths, a lot of the details we talk about all the time.”
More than just the coaches, the players on the ice are up for the challenge; they want to gain momentum right away out of the break and improve overall as a team.
“They’re a great team,” Marcus Pettersson said. “I think for us, we’re just looking at ourselves right now and try and see this as a reset button.”
Through the first 49 games of the season, the Penguins sit with a 24-16-9 record and are clinging to the last wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Avalanche are currently out of a playoff spot, but entered the All-Star break as one of the hottest teams in the NHL by winning seven of their last eight.
The Penguins will still be without Tristan Jarry in net, but should get some help in the bottom six with the likely returns of Josh Archibald and Kasperi Kapanen.
“We got to hit the restart button,” Kapanen said. “We know we’re a good team. We haven’t been playing to our expectations. Tonight will be a fun night against a good team.”
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