Game Preview: Penguins vs Avalanche

The Pittsburgh Penguins take on the Colorado Avalanche tonight at 7 PM at PPG Paints Arena. The Penguins are currently 24-16-9, while the Avalanche currently sit at 27-18-3. The game will be available to watch on AT&T Sportsnet and AltitudeTV2. 

Forward Valeri Nichushkin and defenseman Bowen Byram will return for the Avalanche. Nichushkin missed the last two games with an upper-body injury, and Bryam has been out since the beginning of November with a lower-body injury. There is still a chance that Englund could replace MacDermid in the lineup as the seventh defenseman. Forwards Kasperi Kapanen and Josh Archibald are each back for Pittsburgh. Kapanen has been out since January 18th with a lower-body injury, and Archibald has been out since December 18th, also with a lower-body injury. 

PLAYERS TO WATCH

COL: F Nathan MacKinnon (0-5-5 in last 5 games)

PIT: F Sidney Crosby: (3-5-8 in last 5 games)

STARTING GOALIES

COL: Pavel Francouz (7-7-0, 2.58 GAA, .917 SV%, 1 SO)

PIT: Casey DeSmith (7-10-4, 3.35 GAA, .901 SV%, 0 SO)

STATS

PP%

COL: 24.5% (8th)

PIT: 22.7% (14th)

PK%

COL: 76.8% (20th)

PIT: 81.1% (9th)

FO%

COL: 46.3% (27th)

PIT: 52.2% (8th)

GF/GP

COL: 3.06 (19th)

PIT: 3.27 (12th)

GA/GP

COL: 2.73 (9th)

PIT: 3.10 (17th)

COL Projected Lines

Valeri Nichushkin – Nathan MacKinnon – Artturi Lehkonen 

Mikko Rantanen – J.T. Compher – Evan Rodrigues 

Matt Nieto – Alex Newhook – Denis Malgin 

Kurtis MacDermid – Logan O’Connor – Andrew Cogliano 

Devon Toews – Cale Makar

Samuel Girard – Erik Johnson

Bowen Byram – Brad Hunt

Pavel Francouz

Alexandar Georgiev 

Scratched: D Andreas Englund

Injured: F Gabriel Landeskog (knee), D Josh Manson (lower-body), F Darren Helm (lower-body)

PIT Projected Lines

Jake Guentzel – Sidney Crosby – Rickard Rakell 

Jason Zucker – Evgeni Malkin – Bryan Rust 

Brock McGinn – Jeff Carter – Kasperi Kapanen

Ryan Poehling – Teddy Blueger – Josh Archibald 

Brian Dumoulin – Kris Letang

Marcus Pettersson – Jeff Petry

Pierre-Olivier Joseph – Chad Ruhwedel

Casey DeSmith

Dustin Takorski 

Scratched: F Drew O’Connor, D Mark Friedman, F Danton Heinen

Injured: G Tristan Jarry (upper-body), D Jan Rutta (upper-body)

Stanley Cup Aspirations – Cue’ the Duck Boats Pod

The boys are back after a long break but have plenty to talk about as the playoffs are in full swing. We go series by series, looking at how teams have fared so far and who will come out on top. Thanks for listening! Please rate and review our show on your favorite listening platform. Check out our partner's website at www.insidetherink.com for all your latest hockey news.

1. Stanley Cup Aspirations 44:49
2. The Final Countdown 36:54
3. Here Come the Playoffs 32:42
4. Home Stretch 38:16
5. Kevy Cooks 45:22