Pittsburgh will ring in the new year on home ice Thursday night against the Detroit Red Wings as the Penguins seek their first three-game winning streak since October.
Coach Dan Muse’s team dispatched the Carolina Hurricanes, who lead the Metropolitan Division, 5-1 on Tuesday, and next up is the Atlantic Division-leading Red Wings, who won for the fifth time in six games in a 2-1 home victory Wednesday over the Winnipeg Jets.
Pittsburgh’s offense has been on its game since the holiday break, scoring 12 goals in its last two contests. It’s quite a turnaround from the eight-game losing streak (0-4-4) the Penguins endured from Dec. 7-20, when the team mustered only 20 goals and was shut out in back-to-back games.
The Penguins have seen increased production from their bigger players. Justin Brazeau, a 6-foot-6 forward, followed his hat trick in Chicago on Sunday in a 7-3 victory with a goal and an assist in the win over the Hurricanes. Anthony Mantha has goals in three straight contests, including a pair in Tuesday’s win.
“These guys, they’re huge bodies that can get to the net, and they’re doing that right now,” Muse told reporters after the win over the Hurricanes. “You saw them get rewarded with that here, but they’ve got a skill set where they’re able to make plays. I think there’s a good balance to the way they’re playing right now.”
Sidney Crosby also scored a goal on Tuesday to extend his points streak to four games. The 38-year-old center leads the team with 21 goals and 40 points in 38 games.
Detroit, meanwhile, is coming off a highly successful December, with coach Todd McLellan’s team going 11-3-1.
McLellan told reporters after his team beat Winnipeg that he sees a lot of differences between this season’s squad and last year’s team, which finished sixth in the division and extended Detroit’s playoff drought to nine seasons, the longest stretch of futility for the Original Six franchise.
“We’re not panicking as much,” McLellan said. “We play with less risk. We don’t extend shifts as much as we did last year. We give up a little bit of offense at times to manage situations properly.”
Dylan Larkin scored his team-leading 21st goal in Wednesday’s victory. Lucas Raymond got the secondary assist on that goal to give him points in four of his last five games. He leads the Red Wings with 32 assists and 43 points.
With John Gibson getting the win Wednesday, Cam Talbot may start in net for the Red Wings in Pittsburgh. Talbot, 38, is 11-6-2 in 20 games (18 starts) with a 2.94 goals-against average and a .889 save percentage. In 13 career games against the Penguins, he owns a 4-4-4 record with a 3.14 GAA and a .904 save percentage.
Pittsburgh goalie Stuart Skinner, who got his first win in his fourth start with the team on Tuesday, could face the Red Wings for a third time this season. Acquired from Edmonton on Dec. 12, Skinner is 2-2-1 against Detroit in his career with a 2.57 GAA and a .920 save percentage.
He was 1-1 against them this season for the Oilers. That includes a 27-save win over the Red Wings in a 4-1 win on Dec. 11, his last appearance for Edmonton.
Thursday’s game will be the first of a home-and-home set between Detroit and Pittsburgh. The teams will meet in Detroit on Saturday.
–Field Level Media
