Tonight is the first of a three-game road trip on the East Coast for the Vegas Golden Knights, and it is arguably the toughest test of the year yet against a red hot Pittsburgh Penguins team.
The Knights are on their travels after beating the Ottawa Senators in a Shootout on Thursday night, and they will head to Philadelphia and Chicago following tonight’s matchup in Pittsburgh.
Vegas, who are 5-3-0 on the year, meet a Penguins team who are playing at the peak of their powers right now, despite their roster being a complete mass unit.
Even with star center Evgeni Malkin out with a lower body injury, the Penguins have marched on and have constructed a five-game winning streak, in which they have outscored their opponents 23-11 during that span.
And that has come without the likes of Nick Bjugstad (lower body), Bryan Rust (upper body) and Alex Galchenyuk (lower body), although you don’t need much help when Sidney Crosby is firing on all cylinders.
Crosby, who has been known to start slow, has carried his team on his back to start the year and he’s tallied 12 points (four goals, eight assists) through the first eight games of the year.
Despite being in the NHL for over a decade now, Crosby can still produce moments that belies belief, as best demonstrated by this sublime goal against the Colorado Avalanche.
🚨 SIDNEY CROSBY HIGHLIGHT GOAL 🚨 #WNH
— NHL (@NHL) October 16, 2019
📺: https://t.co/lNMdoPjVhg @NHLonNBCSports pic.twitter.com/UoqPgkzDoS
In truth, you can’t really put the shackles on Crosby when he’s in full swing so, instead, the Golden Knights are going to have to try and cut off the supply by closing down the center’s linemates, Jake Guentzel and Dominik Simon.
It isn’t just Crosby the Knights will have to watch out for, though. The Penguins have 11 players sitting on four or more points, including defenseman Kris Letang who has 10 (four goals, six assists) and the aforementioned Guentzel who has five goals and three assists for eight points.
The Penguins (6-2-0) are coming off a 4-2 win against the Dallas Stars in their last outing, and they will be looking to make it six straight wins with a victory tonight.
For Vegas, they too are coming off win having edged the Ottawa Senators in a Shootout thanks in large to yet another strong outing from goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who will make an emotional return to Pittsburgh having spent 13 seasons with that franchise, winning three Stanley Cups.
Fleury will get the start in net tonight for his fifth consecutive start, while rookie defenseman Jake Bischoff will make his NHL debut for the Vegas Golden Knights.
Bischoff, who is more of a stay-at-home defenseman, will replace fellow rookie Nic Hague in the lineup and will partner veteran Deryk Engelland on the bottom defensive pairing.
Vegas will be relying on Mark Stone to continue his red hot start to the year, with the forward having contributed five goals and six assists for 11 points in eight games.
Reilly Smith is also having a hell of a start to the regular season with six goals and seven points, while Ryan Reaves will no doubt be looking to make his presence felt against his former team.
Here are the projected lineups for both teams:
Pittsburgh Penguins
Jake Guentzel-Sidney Crosby-Dominik Simon
Dominik Kahun–Jared McCann–Patric Hornqvist
Zach Aston-Reese–Teddy Blueger–Brandon Tanev
Adam Johnson-Joseph-Blandisi-Sam Lafferty
Brian Dumoulin-Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson–Justin Schultz
Erik Gudbranson–John Marino
Vegas Golden Knights
Jonathan Marchessault–William Karlsson-Reilly Smith
Max Pacioretty–Paul Stastny-Mark Stone
Brandon Pirri–Cody Eakin–Cody Glass
William Carrier–Tomas Nosek-Ryan Reaves
Brayden McNabb–Shea Theodore
Jon Merrill-Nick Holden
Jake Bischoff-Deryk Engelland
Marc-Andre Fleury
STAT OF THE DAY
Max Pacioretty has been in lethal form for the Vegas Golden Knights so far this year, tallying nine points (two goals, seven assists) through eight games, and he is now three points from reaching the 500 point plateau in the NHL.
And here is all the essential information you need to know prior to faceoff…
Time: 4:00 p.m. PT
Where: PPG Paints Arena – Pittsburgh
TV Broadcast: AT&T SportsNet
Radio: FOX Sports 98.9/1340
Live Streaming: ESPN+ has a free 7-day trial that includes live streaming for this game on all your smart devices! Besides NHL games, ESPN+ features a selection of live games from MLB, MLS, Serie A, FA Cup and EFL. Get in on the action with Live UFC Fight Nights, 30+ Top Rank Boxing Cards, Grand Slam Tennis from Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open.
This will be a real litmus test for the Vegas Golden Knights who have had a mixed bag of results against fellow contending teams. The Pittsburgh Penguins, led by their franchise leader Sidney Crosby, are playing superb hockey right now and the Knights are going to have to execute their game plan perfectly if they are to get this road trip off to a winning start.