The Pittsburgh Penguins are in the midst of a road trip that they would rather forget. After being swept at home last weekend by Atlantic Division foes Boston and Detroit, a three-game set against three of the worst teams in the league seemed like it was just what the doctor ordered for the Pens.
Instead, they were shutout 3-0 in New Jersey, and unable to recover from their second period mistakes in a 2-1 loss in Dallas. The Pens have now lost four straight games and have scored only two goals in that span.
TONIGHT’S OPPONENT: This will be the first game between the Penguins and the Coyotes this season, and asa result, the first time that the Penguins have played the Arizona Coyotes.
The team, which moved to Phoenix from Winnipeg, was known as the Phoenix Coyotes from 1996 to 2014, despite moving to suburban Glendale, Arizona in 2003. This offseason — as part of a deal with the City of Glendale to keep the Coyotes in Arizona — they changed their name to Arizona.
The Coyotes are in a race — but it isn’t a playoff race. Arizona, along with the Edmonton Oilers and Buffalo Sabres are in a furious race to the bottom of the standings in the hopes of landing Erie Otters superstar Connor McDavid in the NHL draft.
Of course, no team would admit to intentionally losing games, but if the Coyotes are trying to win, it makes their recent stretch of games even more embarrassing. The Coyotes have lost 16 of their last 17 games, with the only victory coming in a shootout over Vancouver.
Their leading scorer, defenseman Keith Yandle, was traded to the New York Rangers at the trade deadline. Their leading scoring forward, Antoine Vermette, now plays for the Chicago Blackhawks.
By far the best player remaining the desert is dynamic defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larson. The 23-year old Swede leads the Coyotes with 19 goals and 35 points. Despite his offensive success, he’s a minus-20 on the season. Normally, that would be alarming, but on the hapless Coyotes, there are eight players with worse ratings.
THE 4077: Center Evgeni Malkin (lower-body) and winger Patric Hornqvist (upper-body) are not with the team on this road trip.
No update has been give on right-winger Steve Downie, who left Tuesday’s game in Dallas with an undisclosed injury. Downie was sandwiched in between two Stars players with 1:59 remaining in the third period and did not return to the game.
If Downie is unable to play, the Penguins may have to play with only 17 skaters. With no spare cap space, Downie, Hornqvist or Malkin would be have to placed on Long-Term Injured Reserve for the Penguins to make a recall from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Hornqvist and Malkin aren’t expected to miss the two-week requirement for the LTIR.
If the Penguins play a man short tonight, they would be allowed to make a cap-free recall in advance of Tuesday’s game against Saint Louis.
SCOREBOARD WATCHING: Despite the Penguins recent slide, they remain pretty much where they started in the Metropolitan Division standings. They are two points behind the New York Islanders for the second seed, and the Penguins still have a game in hand over the Isles, while first-place Rangers have played fewer games than everyone and have the top spot under lock and key.
The biggest change has been the recent surge of the Washington Capitals. After losing three of four, the Caps have reeled off three straight victories and have now tied the Penguins with 88 points. The Pens remain in third place because they have played one fewer game.
MINOR MATTERS: The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (36-20-7, 2nd in AHL East) dropped a 2-1 decision in overtime against the Syracuse Crunch on Friday night. Captain Tom Kostopoulos scored the lone goal for the Penguins, while rookie goaltender Matt Murray saw his personal winning streak of nine games snapped. Their weekend continues when they host the Binghamton Senators tonight at 7:05 and then travel to Lehigh Valley on Sunday afternoon.
The Wheeling Nailers (30-28-2, 4th in ECHL North) finally won a game that would separate them from the crowded pack chasing the final playoff spot in the North Division, beating the Elmira Jackals 2-1 in a shutout on Friday. Franky Palazzese won his 17th game of the season, while Chaz Johnson scored the lone regulation goal for Wheeling. The Nailers and Jackals play again tonight at 7:04 in Elmira.
#CAWLIDGEHAWKEY: Both are college hockey teams saw their season come to an end in conference tournament play this weekend. Penn State (18-15-4) lost 3-1 in the Big Ten quarterfinals on Thursday. Robert Morris (22-8-5) lost a heartbreaker in overtime to Mercyhurst in the Atlantic Hockey semifinal on Friday night.
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