Pittsburgh's disastrous 2-4 start to the road trip could end on a high note with a win Wednesday night
It's safe to say that this long road trip hasn't exactly gone as hoped for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
And they'll - once again - be facing a team out of playoff contention to help them crawl out of a funk.
The Penguins square off against the Utah Hockey Club on Wednesday night, and this will be their fourth consecutive game against a non-playoff opponent. They have lost three straight games against the Anaheim Ducks, Seattle Kraken, and San Jose Sharks, and they are now eight points back of the second wild card spot in the East.
Pittsburgh has just five games remaining before the upcoming 4 Nations Face-off halts play for a week and a half in February. If the Penguins are going to gain any ground in the playoff race, they know they have to start tonight - and keep their foot on the gas.
And they'll have the opportunity to do that in a brand new hockey city, which is something that head coach Mike Sullivan hopes can give his team a little extra juice.
"I'd like to believe that given the circumstance that we're in here," Sullivan said. "We'd like to try to do our best to salvage this trip and try to secure another win that keeps us in the race. Players are well-aware of where we're at, what we have in front of us, and the challenge that we have. We've gotta try to maximize every opportunity in front of us, so we should bring a certain level of urgency."
He continued: "These guys care an awful lot, and they're invested. We want to win. When it doesn't go the right way, nobody feels it more than the players themselves and the coaching staff. But that's one of the challenges is making sure that you're able to move by those emotions and bring a certain attitude... a certain swagger and resilience to your game that gives us a better chance to win. We can't feel sorry for ourselves because of the position we're in. Nobody else feels sorry for us, so we just gotta make sure we dig in here and we play the game that gives us the best chance to win."
Alex Nedeljkovic will get the start in net again for the Penguins, and this will be his fifth start on the seven-game road trip.
"He's a next-effort player. He's a guy that really owns his own game. He self-assesses really well, he takes ownership for his own game, and wants to improve and get better. And I think he personifies the attitude that's required right now in the circumstance that we're in to have success."
The Penguins will also make a few lineup changes tonight, as Blake Lizotte is back after missing three games with an illness, Jesse Puljujarvi and Boko Imama are in, and Matt Nieto and Philip Tomasino are out:
The Penguins lost their first tilt this season against Utah by a score of 6-1 on Nov. 23, with the lone goal being Sidney Crosby's 600th. Utah is riding a two-game losing streak and is 4-6 in their last 10 games. They sit 21-21-7 on the season and are fifth in the Western Conference wild card race - just five points behind Calgary for the second spot.
