The Penguins will look to extend their winning ways as they host the Dallas Starts at Consol Energy Center tonight. Mike Johnston’s squad is off to a 2-0 start and will face their second Western Conference opponent of the 2014-15 season. The Penguins were 10-4 while hosting Western Conference teams last season.
TONIGHT’S OPPONENT: The Stars are coming off a 4-2 win in Columbus on Tuesday night. Dallas was lead offensively by left-winger Jamie Benn and center Tyler Seguin. The duo combined for four goals and seven points. At 25 and 23 respectively, the young forwards are expected to lead the charge for the Stars, and they have so far.
Joining them are veteran forwards Jason Spezza and Ales Hemsky, who came over from Ottawa in the offseason. Spezza has dominated the Penguins throughout his career, with 16 goals and 27 assists in 36 games.
Kari Lehtonen will man the crease for Dallas. He has a 1-0-1 record in two contests this season, allowing four goals on 61 shots for an impressive .934 save percentage. In his career with Dallas and Atlanta, Lehtonen is 8-5-3 with a .911 save percentage against Pittsburgh.
This is the first of two games between Pittsburgh and Dallas this season. The Penguins will travel to Dallas on March 19, 2015. The teams split their two meetings last season. Dallas has not won in Pittsburgh since December 23, 2000.
WHAT’S AT STAKE: With a win, Mike Johnston would be the first Penguins head coach since Herb Brooks in 1999-2000 to win his first three games. The Penguins need two points to move into a share of the Metropolitan Division lead with the New Jersey Devils. The Devils (3-0) are visiting the Washington Capitals tonight.
MAN DOWN: The Penguins penalty kill continues to be a sore spot for the club. After giving up three power play goals in the season opener against Anaheim, they gave up two more in Saturday’s win in Toronto. The PK sits dead last in the NHL with a 54.6% success rate.
The defensive pairing of Paul Martin and Rob Scuderi has taken the brunt of the abuse. The duo has been on the ice for four of the team’s five power play goals against. Scuderi’s turnover led directly to Tyler Bozak’s third period power play goal for Toronto on Saturday. Injured defenseman Robert Bortuzzo has been skating on his own outside of practice, and would be a help to the unit when he returns from his injury. He’s expected to return near the end of the month.
The other player that could help out on the PK would be goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. Fleury’s .667 shorthanded save percentage is last in league. The team has given up only 15 shots in their 11 times shorthanded.
POWER OUTAGE: The Penguins penalty killers should get a reprieve tonight. Dallas’ power play unit is operating at an anemic 12.5%. Furthermore, the Stars have earned a league-worst eight power play opportunities. Defenseman Trevor Daley has their lone power play goal.
SALUTE THE SARGE: Longtime Penguins defenseman Sergei Gonchar will be out of the lineup for Dallas tonight. He is expected to miss the first three to five weeks of the regular season after fracturing his ankle in the preseason. The Russian defenseman spent five years with the Penguins, including a Stanley Cup win in 2009.
FLYING FISTS: Each of tonight’s teams has two fighting majors in the young season. Zach Sill and Simon Despres have dropped the gloves for the Penguins and Vernon Fiddler and Jamie Benn have fought for the Stars.
MINOR MATTERS: The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League have started their season 0-2, with home losses to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and Manchester Monarchs. Goaltender Jeff Zatkoff took both losses. Left-winger Dominic Uher leads the team in scoring with three assists.
The Wheeling Nailers (ECHL) start their season Saturday against Reading.
(Photo Credit: Gene J. Puskar)
