Good evening Penguins nation and welcome to the last edition of Big Daves Pens Pregame show. Tonight, our Penguins look to right the ship after a sloppy performance earlier in the week. It won't come easy, as it is also a Stanley Cup Final rematch with the San Jose Sharks in town.
Puck drops on the action at 7pm tonight, but my Pregame is live now.....
Tonight's "Big Dave's Gameday Jam" is in honor of the performer I will be seeing tomorrow night. My girl is a huge fan of Kip Moore, and I gotta say, the dude is very good. He's country with a lot of Bruce Springsteen influence. If you like either, I highly recommend a listen. This is my favorite song of his, entitled "Wild Ones." Enjoy!
The State of the Penguins
The Penguins started the season well with back-to-back wins over Washington and Anaheim. In those wins, the Pens looked pretty solid. They were scoring goals and playing a generally solid overall game.
Then the week turned and the Pens turned too. In Monday's loss v. Colorado they were sloppy and often times lackadaisical. They managed a point out of the loss, but they should have gotten the full two points.
And then the Penguins went to Montreal Tuesday night. In that showing, the Penguins got absolutely annihilated! They were sloppy, taking six penalties on the night. The Canadiens weren't much more disciplined, but the Penguins couldn't take advantage, as they were embarrassed in the 4-0 shutout.
What we have seen in the last two games are not Mike Sullivan's Penguins. In fact, they look much more like Mike Johnston's Penguins. Down the stretch last year, we saw a disciplined team, focused on their game and racking up points. This year, we have seen such stupid, lazy penalties. We have seen an almost lackadaisical nature in this team. What is the issue?
Is it possible the Stanley Cup hangover has hit? Absolutely. This team played a lot of hockey, had a lot of fun and is finally coming down from a four-month high. Now, they are back in the grind of an 82-game schedule and they just look disinterested.
Under any other coach, I'd be concerned. But under Mike Sullivan, I believe the ship will be righted and in short order. Look for a much sharper team tonight when they host the San Jose Sharks for the first time since last June's Stanley Cup Final.
The San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks got much better over the summer. They kept the majority of the Stanley Cup Finals team together, and added two pieces to make it deeper. Mikkel Boedker comes over from Colorado after a solid season split between the Avs and Coyotes. He is now skating on the Sharks second line. On the back end, Roman Polak walked during free agency, and the Sharks added former Devils defenseman David Schlemko to fill the final defensive spot.
Other than that, this is the same team and one I think will really take a step forward this season. Brent Burns is off to a flying start, and as I stated Monday, he is my pick for the Norris Trophy this year. Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski have great chemistry, and the two have combined for 11 points to start the season. Martin Jones should take another step forward in his sophomore as the Sharks starter in net.
I love this team. They have a lot of talent and Peter DeBoer has figured out how to run this team from a disaster it was just three seasons ago. I think they should be the favorites to come out of the West and it is possible they win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.
What You Need to Know About the Sharks:
- San Jose was 46-30-6 in the 2015-16 regular season.
- The Sharks earned their way to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in franchise history last season.
- San Jose was 28-10-3 on the road last season.
- The Sharks are 3-1-0 to start the 2016-17 season, currently sitting in third in the Pacific Division.
Scoring Leaders:
- D Brent Burns - 8pts (3G-5A)
- RW Joe Pavelski - 6pts (2G-4A)
- C Joe Thornton - 5pts (5A)
- C Logan Couture - 4pts (2G-2A)
- LW Tomas Hertl - 2pts (G-A)
Offseason Acquisitions:
- LW Mikkel Boedker, D David Schlemko
Offseason Subtractions:
- D Roman Polak, G James Reimer, D Matt Tennyson
Injury Report:
- No injuries at this time.
Projected Lines:
- Tomas Hertl - Joe Thornton - Joe Pavelski
- Mikkel Boedker - Logan Couture - Joonas Donskoi
- Patric Marleau - Chris Tierney - Joel Ward
- Matt Nieto - Tommy Wingles - Melker Karlsson
Projected Pairs:
- Paul Martin - Brent Burns
- Marc-Eduard Vlasic - Justin Braun
- Brenden Dillon - David Schlemko
Martin Jones is expected to start in net tonight.
News & Notes From Around the Penguins
- C Sidney Crosby (concussion) remains OUT tonight. Sid is skating, but he hasn't been cleared for contact quite yet.
- G Matt Murray (hand) is a game-time decision tonight. Murray returned to full practice yesterday and is expected to rejoin the team as early as this weekend.
- D Kris Letang (upper-body) is a game-time decision tonight. Tanger left Tuesday's game in the 3rd period after a hit from behind by Montreal's Brendan Gallagher.
- LW Conor Sheary (eye) is a game-time decision. Sheary took a stick to the eye in Tuesday's loss and did not return to the game. His status is uncertain for tonight.
Transaction Note:
- G Matt Murray has signed a 3-year contract extension with the Penguins. The AAV is 3.75 million dollars.
Projected Lines & Pairs
- Carl Hagelin - Nick Bonino - Phil Kesse
- Chris Kunitz - Evgeni Malkin - Bryan Rust
- Scott Wilson - Matt Cullen - Patric Hornqvist
- Tom Kuhnhackl - Eric Fehr - Tom Sestito
Pairs:
- Brian Dumoulin - Trevor Daley
- Ian Cole - Justin Schultz
- Olli Maatta - Derrick Pouliot
Marc-Andre Fleury will start in net tonight for the Penguins.
My 3 Keys to the Game
2. Flower Power: I want to focus on other guys in my 3 Pens to watch, but the Flower is for sure a key tonight. He has been left out to dry by his teammates the last two games, and has started the season in an overall solid form. I want to see Flower keep up the way he's playing.
3. Play Your Game: Speed, forechecking, backchecking the Penguins certainly haven't been playing Penguins hockey. I expect Mike Sullivan to get these guys ready to play their game tonight, and not this nonsense they've been playing the last two games.
My 3 Pens to watch
2. Nick Bonino: Bones has been solid this season, but he can be better. We saw the level he, Hagelin and Kessel can play at. Kessel is firing, but Bonino and Hagelin have work to do. I want to see a spark from Bones tonight.
3. Carl Hagelin: Hagelin was horrible v. Colorado. I didn't see any of the Montreal game, but there is another level for Hagelin to take. Tonight, like Bonino, I want to see the entire HBK line its mojo and punish the Sharks like it did in the Cup Finals just four months ago.
What to Know for Attending/Watching/Listening
- Doors open at 6:00pm for an 7:00pm puck drop.
- Stop by PensGear powered by Reebok inside the Trib Total Media Gate at PPG Paints Arena during Saturday's game to take home your piece of the Championship from the Official 2016 Pittsburgh Penguins Stanley Cup Fan Program.
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