Good evening Penguins fans and welcome to the latest edition of Big Dave's Pens Pregame show. Tonight, Sidney Crosby and the Penguins will play host to Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers. Puck drops on the Election Night action at 7:00pm, but my Pregame is live now....
Tonight's "Big Dave's Gameday Jam" is appropriate with it being election day. Depending on who you ask, if the other candidate wins it is "the end of the world as we know it." SO, it only seemed appropriate to go with R.E.M's classic "Its the End of the World!" Enjoy!
The State of the Penguins
What we have seen out of our beloved Captain since his return from a concussion two weeks ago has been nothing short of amazing. In just six outings, he has eight goals, 10 points and is a plus-5. Every shift he is on the ice has generated some sort of chance. Frankly, this version of Sid is reminiscent of the 2010-11 version of the Captain, the one who was on pace to score over 120 points.
The Penguins as a whole are rolling along as well. They earned seven out of eight total points on their four game road trip, including 5 out of 6 on the California trip. Sid has been the catalyst of course, but the Penguins are getting solid showings out of others besides just the Captain.
One is Matt Murray. The young netminder made his first start of the season in Anaheim and allowed just one goal. Saturday v. San Jose, he earned his first shutout of the season. Murray has looked pretty good since returning, and has made it evident he intends on being the Penguins top goalie with his play.
Another solid player has been Matt Cullen. The two-time Cup winner turned 40 a week ago, and he scored another goal to celebrate. In 12 games this year, the veteran has three goals and nine points. His defense has been at a high level as it always is and, despite his age, he has been really flying out there.
Tonight, the Penguins return home for the first time in over a week to begin a homestand. They will face rookie phenom Auston Matthews and Toronto on Saturday, the Minnesota Wild on Thursday and tonight, they'll face Connor McDavid and the surging Edmonton Oilers at PPG Paints Arena. It is a battle of "the world's best" in Crosby and McDavid, who both are at the top of their games right now....
Resurrection, Finally?: The Edmonton Oilers
For the last decade, Edmonton has finished low enough to have six top overall selections and top 10 picks every year. Yet, despite the collection of young talent, that team went no where, ever. Many wondered if it was the players. Many figured it was the coaching and development. Maybe it was all of the above.
Edmonton moved on from veteran winger Taylor Hall this offseason. He was traded to New Jersey for defenseman Adam Larsson. Often criticized winger Nail Yakupov was finally unloaded after years of rumors to St. Louis as training camp began. Todd McClelland enters his second year as head coach and it looks like he is finally getting the ship righted in the Oil City.
The Oilers currently have a five point lead in the Pacific Division. They are 8-3-1 on the young season and have really looked dangerous for the first time since they made the Stanley Cup Finals in 2005-06.
Sophomore phenom Connor McDavid has been a big key to the play of the Oilers. The kid dubbed "the next Sidney Crosby" has done little to disappoint in his second pro season. Through 13 games, he has 14 points, which is top 10 in the league at this point. McDavid is expected to do exactly what Sid did for the Penguins, and so far, it looks like he may well be the NHL's next great star.
Alongside McDavid has been Jordan Eberle and Patrick Maroon. The two of them have combined for 13 points thus far on the season. Milan Lucic, who signed a big deal in Edmonton on July 1st, has 9 points thus far playing alongside McDavid and throughout the Oilers' top nine. German Leon Draisaitl has been solid to start the season, and former Penguins center Mark Letestu has six points so far on the young season.
It is only November, and we have seen teams start hot and falter before. That being said, this Oilers team looks different from teams of the pass. Many players have said the locker room is a completely different experience than years past. And the coaching of McClelland certainly seems to be taking hold. It would be great for hockey if the Oilers became relevant again, and with McDavid in the mix, it just may happen.
I am very excited for this showdown tonight, and I expect a great game all-around from both sides.
What to Know About the Oilers:
- 9-3-1 on the season.
- Oilers currently sit atop the Pacific Division and have the best record in the West.
- Edmonton has gone 6-3-1 in their last 10 games.
- The new Rogers Center has been good to the Oilers, as they are 4-1-1 at home.
Scoring Leaders:
- C Connor McDavid - 14pts
- LW Milan Lucic -9pts
- RW Jordan Eberle - 8pts
- C Leon Draisaitl - 8pts
- C Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - 7pts
Injury Report:
- C Drake Caggiula (undisclosed) is OUT tonight. The young center's injury, though undisclosed, is being considered "week-to-week."
- RW Zack Kassian (undisclosed) is a game-time decision tonight. He left Saturday's game with an injury and was held out Sunday night for the Oilers.
- RW Jesse Puljujarvi (lower-body) is a game-time decision. The rookie left Saturday's game with what Coach McClelland called a severe "charlie horse." He should be good to go tonight, but only time will tell.
- D Kris Russell (undisclosed) is a game-time decision tonight. Russell missed the weekend matchups with an undisclosed injury.
- D Brandon Davidson (head) is OUT tonight. Davidson hasn't played yet this season after suffering a nasty head injury during the preseason.
- D Mark Fayne (undisclosed) is OUT tonight. The veteran defenseman hasn't played since mid-October and is currently on IR.
- C Matt Hendricks (lower-body) is OUT tonight. Hendricks hasn't played yet this season after suffering an injury during the preseason.
Lines:
- Patrick Maroon - Connor McDavid - Jordan Eberle
- Benoit Pouliot - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins - Anton Slepyshev
- Milan Lucic - Leon Draisaitl - Tyler Pitlick
- Anton Lander - Mark Letestu - Taylor Beck
Pairs:
- Oskar Klefbom - Adam Larsson
- Andrej Sekera - Matt Benning
- Darnell Nurse - Eric Gryba
Cam Talbot is expected to start in net.
News & Notes From the pens
- D Steve Oleksy and D Chad Ruhwedel have been re-called from WBS of the AHL.
- The Penguins have re-assigned D David Warsofsky and F Tom Sestito to WBS of the AHL.
Penguins Scoring Leaders:
- C Evgeni Malkin - 12pts
- C Sidney Crosby - 10pts
- RW Phil Kessel - 10pts
- RW Patric Hornqvist - 10pts
- C Matt Cullen - 9pts
Miscellaneous Notes:
- C Sidney Crosby has points in each of his six games this year. He has points in 26 of his last 27 total games played (regular season and playoffs).
- The Penguins are 6-2-2 in their last 10 games.
- PPG Paints Arena has been great to the Penguins thus far, with the Pens going 5-0-1 at home.
Projected Lines & Pairs
- Carl Hagelin - Sidney Crosby - Patric Hornqvist
- Chris Kunitz - Evgeni Malkin - Phil Kessel
- Scott Wilson - Nick Bonino - Bryan Rust
- Conor Sheary - Matt Cullen - Eric Fehr
Pairs:
- Brian Dumoulin - Kris Letang
- Olli Maatta - Trevor Daley
- Ian Cole - Justin Schultz
Matt Murray is expected to start in net.
My 3 Keys to the Game
2. Power Play: The Oilers defensive corps still isn't top notch, especially with some injuries. I'd like to see the Penguins power play take advantage of any chances they get and pot a goal or two on the advantage.
3. Bottom Six: The Penguins have gotten a lot of scoring throughout the lineup, particularly from the bottom six. Matt Cullen has 9 points so far, and it seems like every game the boys have had a big goal from the bottom sixers. I'd like to see that continue tonight.
My 3 Penguins to Watch
2. Scott Wilson: I haven't been overly impressed with his play of late. He had assists in back-to-back games v. New York and Philly, but he hasn't been overly impressive, thus his demotion down the lineup. I think he has a ton of talent, and could be a top 9 player, but he does need to find a way to be more offensively productive.
3. Brian Dumoulin: Dumoulin hasn't been very noticeable of late, which is exactly what you want from a defensive-minded defenseman. Dumoulin has been the Penguins most steady defenseman this year, and his level-headed reliable play in his own end is the key to this team. He had an assist against San Jose, but I think he may get a big goal tonight.
What to Know for Attending/Watching/Listening
- Doors open at 6:00pm for an 7:00pm puck drop.
- All fans in attendance will receive a "50th Anniversary Man Cave" magnet presented by Point Park University.
What to know for WATCHING the game:
- The game will be nationally televised on ROOT Sports.
- Coverage begins with Penguins Pregame at 6:30pm and Penguins Post Game following the action.
- Paul Steigerwald and Bob Errey will have the call, with Dan Potash handling the interviews.
What to know for LISTENING to the game:
- Full coverage will be available on 105.9 the X, iHeartRadio and on the Penguins app.
- Penguins Pregame will precede the game coverage, starting at 6:00pm with Josh Getzoff.
- Hall of Famer Mike Lange and Phil Bourque will have the game coverage starting at 8:00pm.
- Penguins Hot Line follows the game action with Josh Getzoff.
Pens Points:
- Game Attendance - 50pts
- Concession Purchase - 10pts
- Merchandise Purchase - 10pts
- Radio Keyword - 5pts
- ROOT Pregame Keyword - 5pts
- ROOT Postgame Keyword - 5pts