After two straight road games against Metropolitan Division foes, the Penguins will be back and home and again hosting a Western Conference opponent this afternoon at Consol Energy Center.
The West has been kind to the Penguins this season. They’re 9-2-1 against Western Conference opponents, which is the best this season amongst Eastern teams.
TODAY’S OPPONENT: In the ultra-competitive Central Division, it isn’t the ultra-talented Chicago Blackhawks at the top. Nor is it a stong St. Louis squad or red-hot Winnipeg. The Nashville Predators are at the top of the table in the Central. The difference between now and last-year’s squad the missed the playoffs: it starts at the top.
Peter Laviolette, formerly of the Philadelphia Flyers, was brought in after the team let go of the only coach they’d ever had, Barry Trotz. The difference under Laviolette has been night and day, with the team’s defensive structure remaining a strength, while the team’s forwards have new-found offensive creativity.
There are some new faces in the lineup as well. Penguins fans will remember James Neal, who was sent to the Predators in a draft-day trade in exchange for Patric Hornqvist and Nick Spaling. Neal has 16 goals and 12 assists in his first 42 games as for Nashville.
Also joining up with the Predators this offseason was center Mike Ribeiro, a free agent acquisition from Phoenix, who leads the team with 43 points (10 goals, 8 assists).
The Predators have also seen a young player emerge as a future star. 20-year old Swedish center Filip Forsberg has been a revelation. The former first-round pick of the Washington Capitals had seen his stock fall to the point that he was traded for Martin Erat at the trade deadline in 2013.
He has already far exceeded his production from a year ago, with 17 goals and 25 assists for 42 points. He was selected as one of the young stars that participated in the NHL All-Star Weekend.
MEN IN MASKS: For once, it seems the Predators’ fate this season will not rely on the goaltending of Pekka Rinne. It isn’t that he isn’t capable, he has a .931 save percentage and a 1.96 goals-against average on his way to a league-best 29-6-2 record.
The problem with Rinne recently has been keeping him on the ice. He played in only 24 games in 2013-14 and is injured again this year, missing time with a sprained knee suffered right before the all-star break.
Carter Hutton is the likely starter today for Nashville. The 29-year old emerged as the best option to replace Rinne last year after an inauspicious career in Chicago’s minor league system. This year, Hutton is 7-2-4 with a .893 save percentage and a 2.96 goals-against average. He has one career appearance in relief against the Penguins, when he stopped all eight shots he faced.
Opposing Hutton will be Marc-Andre Fleury. Fleury will play in his 40th game of the season, and he is 23-10-5 with a .920 save percentage and a 2.32 goals-against average to go along with six shutouts. In nine career games against the Predators, he is 6-2-1 with a .932 save percentage and a 1.72 goals-against average.
THE 4077: Evgeni Malkin (groin) practiced on Saturday but is not quite ready to re-join the Penguins lineup. Expect him to return for the team’s three-game road trip to Western Canada, which begins on Wednesday.
The outlook for defenseman Christian Ehrhoff (head) is not as promising. The defenseman still has not been cleared for on-ice or off-ice workouts after hitting his head on the ice last Wednesday in Washington. It certainly appears likely that Ehrhoff has a concussion. Ehrhoff has a history of concussion problems in his career.
Winger Blake Comeau (wrist) may also begin practicing with the team in the next few days and is eyeing a return after the Penguins next road trip.
UP AND DOWN: The Penguins sent center Andrew Ebbett to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on Saturday and recalled defenseman Derrick Pouliot.
Ebbett, 32, had just been called up last Monday and played in three games with Pittsburgh. He was held without a point and was a minus-1 with seven shots in this most recent stint. On the season, he has one goal and five assists in 21 games with the Penguins.
Pouliot, 21, has eight NHL games under his belt during his rookie season. He has a goal, two assists and is a plus-1 for Pittsburgh. In 28 games with Wilkes-Barre, he has seven goals, 16 assists and is a plus-3.
MINOR MATTERS: The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (24-18-4, 2nd AHL East) split their two games over the weekend. They went on the road to beat the Springfield Falcons 5-0 on Friday night behind 28 saves from rookie goaltender Matt Murray. Jayson Megna, Tom Kostopoulos, Taylor Chorney, Conor Sheary and Bryan Rust all scored.
On Saturday, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms beat the Penguins at home by a score of 6-3. Jeff Zatkoff took the loss in his return from injury, giving up three goals on eight shots after the Penguins had taken a 2-0 lead on goals from Scott Wilson and Tom Kuhnhackl.
The AHL Penguins will host Springfield again for a rare Tuesday night game at 7:05 p.m.
The Wheeling Nailers (20-21, 5th ECHL North) needed three points in two games to pass their opponents, the Kalamazoo Wings, for fourth place and the finial playoff position. The Nailers got off to a good start on Friday night, with a 4-1 win in front of 32 saves by Franky Palazzese. Morgan Ellis had two goals and David Gilbert had the game-winner and added an assist.
On Saturday, as has been the case all season, Palazzese struggled in the second of back-to-back games, allowing four goals on 26 shots. Tyler Murovich, Derek Army, and Chaz Johnson scored for the Nailers.
#CAWLIDGEHAWKEY: Robert Morris (19-5-4, 1st in AHC) had a huge weekend as they swept the fourth-place Air Force Falcons to extend their winning streak to six games. The Colonials had lost seven straight games out west coming into the weekend, and they now have and eight point lead over second-place Canisius.
Penn State (13-7-4, 2nd in Big Ten) had a come-from behind 4-2 victory over Vermont at the Philadelphia College Hockey Faceoff at Wells Fargo Arena in Philadelphia. P.J. Musico earned the start after his strong play last weekend and made 33 saves to earn his second win of the season. Casey Bailey had a goal and an assist on 11 shots and David Thompson scored the game-winner with under five minutes to play.
