The Pittsburgh Penguins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins]will play their 12th game of the 2025-26 NHL season against the Minnesota Wild [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/minnesota-wild] on Thursday night. This will be the second game of a four-game road trip for the Penguins, which will also include stops in Winnipeg and Toronto. The Penguins lost the first game of the trip on Tuesday against the Philadelphia Flyers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/philadelphia-flyers] in a shootout. The Wild come into this game on a four-game losing streak and have a 3-5-3 record to open the year. It's been a really disappointing start for a team that made the Stanley Cup Playoffs last year before losing to the Vegas Golden Knights [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vegas-golden-knights]. The Penguins have been one of the best teams in the NHL out of the gate, compiling a 7-2-2 record. They have 16 points, which is tied for first in the Metropolitan Division with the New Jersey Devils [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-jersey-devils]. They held a morning skate before Thursday's game, and afterward, head coach Dan Muse told reporters that Ben Kindel will play in his 10th NHL game on Thursday. This means that Kindel's entry-level contract will start after he was given the nine-game trial to open the year. Kindel more than earned this opportunity since he has been one of the Penguins' best forwards to start the year. He has been driving his own line and makes the team better each time he's on the ice. Tristan Jarry will start in goal for the Penguins after Arturs Silovs started Tuesday's game against the Flyers. Muse really likes the goalie rotation so far. Here's a look at the morning skate lines: Forwards Hallander-Crosby-Rust Mantha-Malkin-Brazeau Novak-Kindel-Koivunen Dewar-Lizotte-Acciari Defensive pairings Wotherspoon-Karlsson Shea-Letang Pickering-Dumba -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fellow top prospect Harrison Brunicke is likely going to be scratched again, a sign that he could be going back to his junior team (Kamloops) at some point. Puck drop will be at 8 p.m. ET, and fans can watch the game on SportsNet Pittsburgh or listen to it on 105.9 'The X.' -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw/sections/CAQqEAgAKgcICjCvqtILMO7F6QMwquDfCA?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen] to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!
