The Pittsburgh Penguins will face the host Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night in a matchup in which both teams will be missing their starting goaltenders from last season.
The Penguins, riding high on momentum, will end their four-game series in Western Canada against Vancouver, looking for a fourth straight win.
Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko was a Vezina Trophy finalist last season, but the team’s best player is dealing with a knee injury. There is no firm date as to when he will return.
Two-time All-Star goaltender Tristan Jarry signed a five-year contract extension with the Penguins this summer, but he has struggled early in the season. He was returned to Pittsburgh on Thursday to fine-tune the details of the game.
Kevin Lankinen, who signed a one-year deal with Vancouver in September, has shouldered most of the workload in his young season.
The Penguins are auditioning rookie Joel Blomqvist, who made 46 saves in a 4-0 loss to the host Edmonton Oilers on Friday. It was a brave effort from 22-year-old Blomqvist for Pittsburgh, which has lost four games in a row.
“He’s really stepped up to every challenge we’ve given him so far,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “He played really well in the games he played in. He’s a very athletic goalie. He moves very well from east to west. He’s a net-worthy player.”
Blomqvist did his best to give his team a chance to return for Friday’s game, but the Penguins were unable to solve Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner.
The Canucks continued their recent good fortune with a 6-3 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday.
Vancouver’s Danton Heinen scored twice in the first period. JT Miller had a goal and two assists, and Connor Garland had a goal and an assist each in the win.
Lankinen thwarted his former team throughout the game, but he was especially sharp in the scoreless second period.
This will be the start of a three-game homestand for Vancouver. Vancouver’s team chemistry was called into question after two of Vancouver’s star offensive players had a nasty exchange during Wednesday’s practice.
Miller and Elias Pettersson exchanged low chops after a heated puck battle practice. Miller added an extra cross-check before they parted ways, just to be sure.
Vancouver’s three-game winning streak came after a three-game slide (0 wins, 1 loss, 2 draws) to start the season.
“We’re taking the game step by step,” Canucks manager Rick Tocchet said. “There are things we are getting better at and there are things we have to work on. It is still early in the season.
“We’ve been scoring more goals in the last few games and we’ve been scoring some points.”
The Penguins are still paying the price for their recent win-now mentality, which also mortgaged their future. Fortunately, they still get production from key veterans such as Evgeni Malkin, captain Sidney Crosby and defenseman Erik Karlsson.
Malkin is enjoying an early season resurgence with 11 points in the first nine games. If he maintains this pace, he will easily surpass last season’s total of 67 points.
Crosby has seven points in nine games, ranking second on the team in scoring behind Malkin.
–Field level media
