The Pittsburgh Penguins take on the Carolina Hurricanes tonight at PNC Arena in Raleigh at 5 PM eastern. The Penguins are currently 18-8-4 and sit third in the Metropolitan division with 40 points. The Hurricanes are currently 18-6-6 and sit second in the Metropolitan division with 42 points. The game will be shown on AT&T Sports Network Pittsburgh for Western Pennsylvania folks and on Bally Sports South for the local Canes fans. Other fans can catch it on Sling TV and ESPN+.
The Canes come into this game with a 6-0-1 record in their past seven games. They won their fourth straight game last night against the Dallas Stars in OT 5-4 after blowing a 4-2 lead in the third period. The Pens come into town on a seven-game winning streak. They have been off since Thursday when they defeated the Florida Panthers 4-2 at FLA Live Arena.
The Pens have two games left before the Christmas break. They host the New York Rangers on Tuesday and the Canes on Thursday. The Canes host the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday before they travel to Pittsburgh on Thursday. Afterward, they head back home to take on the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday before their Christmas break.
The Penguins and Canes last met on November 29th, with the Canes winning in overtime after Bryan Rust was cross-checked, and the Penguins stopped playing, expecting a penalty, which led to the breakaway for the Canes. The Canes and Pens will take each other on two times in five days, both each hosting each other and then will meet one final time on January 14th in Raleigh to end their season series.
This will only be the sixth time the Canes and Pens have played each other since the beginning of the 2019-20 season. The Penguins are 1-2-2 in those matches.
PROJECTED LINES
Hurricanes
Andrei Svechnikov-Paul Stastny-Martin Necas
Teuvo Teravainen-Jesper Kotkaniemi-Seth Jarvis
Jordan Martinook-Jordan Staal-Jesper Fast
Derek Stepan-Jack Drury-Stefan Noesen
Jacob Slavin-Brent Burns
Brady Skjei-Brett Pesce
Calvin de Hann-Jalen Chatfield
Pyotr Kochetkov
Antti Raanta
Scratched: F Sebastian Aho (injured)
IR: G Frederik Andersen, F Ondrej Kase, F Max Pacioretty, D Jake Gardiner
Penguins
Jake Guentzel-Sidney Crosby-Rickard Rakell
Danton Heinen-Evgeni Malkin-Bryan Rust
Brock McGinn-Jeff Carter-Kasperi Kapanen
Ryan Poehling-Teddy Blueger-Josh Archibald
Marcus Pettersson-Kris Letang
Brian Dumoulin-Jan Rutta
P.O. Joesph-Chad Ruhwedel
Tristian Jarry
Casey DeSmith
Scratched: F Drew O’Connor, D Mark Friedman, F Jason Zucker (injured)
IR: D Jeff Petry
PLAYERS TO WATCH
CAR: F Stefan Noesen (2G in past 2 games)
PIT: F Evgeni Malkin (2G, 7P in past 5 games)
