The Penguins are back out west this week, as their three-game road trip takes them to Dallas tonight to take on the Stars in a 9:00 p.m. faceoff.
The Pens need to get back on track, after a two-game sweep at home last weekend and a lackluster 2-0 loss in New Jersey on Tuesday has handed them a three-game losing streak in which they’ve scored only one goal.
One player that could spark the offense is left-winger Chris Kunitz. The veteran forward has been struggling lately. He has only one goal in his last 21 games, but has seen more scoring chances in the last few games.
“Last game in Jersey, he had three really good chances,” said head coach Mike Johnston. “I just think lately, he’s missed some great opportunities. He’s going to start to bury some of those.”
TONIGHT’S OPPONENT: This will be the second and final game between the Pens and Stars this season. The Penguins and Stars last met in the third game of the season, way back on October 16.
The Stars are eight points behind Winnipeg for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. With only 12 games remaining, and three other teams between the Stars and the Jets, Dallas’ playoff hopes are meager.
The Stars are missing defenseman Trevor Daley (lower-body), left-winger Travis Moen (upper-body) and right-winger Valeri Nichushkin (hip) with injuries. Former Penguins defenseman Alex Goligoski, traded to Dallas in 2011 for James Neal, missed practice on Wednesday with an illness but is expected to suit up tonight.
CH-CH-CH-CHANGES: The NHL general managers’ meetings were held this week in Boca Raton, Florida, and the league’s GM’s proposed several rule changes for next season.
The biggest proposed change is to the format of overtime. The GM’s recommended on Tuesday to go to a 3-on-3 overtime for regular season games in order to reduce the number of games that go to a shootout.
The exact nature of the change hasn’t been decided upon. This season, the American Hockey league has been playing 4-on-4 for the first four minutes of overtime, and then changing to 3-on-3 after the next whistle.
The other big change is initiating a coach’s challenge for goaltender interference and puck-over-the-glass delay of game penalties. The general managers also endorses changing the faceoff procedure to always favor the team in the offensive zone.
All of the proposed changes will have to be approved by the NHL player’s union before being enacted.
THE 4077: Forwards Evgeni Malkin (lower-body) and Patric Hornqvist (upper-body) will not join the team on this road trip, which wraps up Saturday in Phoenix. Neither is expected to miss a significant amount of time, with Malkin’s prognosis being better than Hornqvist’s.
SCOREBOARD WATCHING: One day after the Chicago Blackhawks beat the New York Islanders, the Blackhawks beat the New York Rangers on Wednesday, to keep the top of the Metropolitan Division race static, with all three teams winning their mid-week games. Tonight, the Washington Capitals will visit the Minnesota Wild at 8:00 p.m. The Caps remain just two points back of Pittsburgh, but the Pens have a game in hand.
MINOR MATTERS: The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (36-20-6, 2nd in AHL East) travel to Syracuse on Friday for a 7:00 p.m. faceoff against the Northeast Division leading Crunch. The Penguins are five points behind the Hershey Bears for first place in the East Division with a game in hand and 14 games to play.
The Wheeling Nailers (29-28-2, 5th in ECHL North) are in upstate New York for a two-game series against the Elmira Jackals starting Friday night at 7:05 p.m. The Nailers will be without forward Stefan Fournier and defenseman Bobby Shea, who were called up to AHL Hamilton on Wednesday. The Nailers are tied with the Cincinnati Cyclones for the fourth and final playoff spot in the North Division, with the Cyclones currently holding the tiebreaker.
CAWLIDGEHAWKEY: Robert Morris (24-7-5, AHC #1 seed) had two players recognized this week. Sophomore defenseman Rob Mann was named the Atlantic Hockey Conference defensive player of the week on Tuesday, and captain Cody Wydo was named one of the ten finalists for the Hobey Baker Award today. The Colonials will play Mercyhurst in the Atlantic Hockey semifinal on Friday.
Penn State (18-14-4, B1G #4 seed) plays fifth-seeded Ohio State today at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan in the Big Ten Conference quarterfinals. Sophomore goaltender Eamon McAdam will get the start in goal for the Nittany Lions.
Photo credit: ESPN
