Tonight, the Pittsburgh Penguins will play in the Mile High City, as they are hosted by Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche.
The Pens have been busy since my last pregame, but nothing has changed on this end. Same structure, format as always. So, let's dive into the Pregame!
Tonight's pregame song is the opening them to a new show I've been watching. About Pirates in the Caribbean, a Starz original series "Black Sails."
The State of the Penguins
The Penguins have not only been busy on ice, but off of it. General Manager Jim Rutherford has completed three trades in the last week, including two on deadline day yesterday. Last Wednesday, the Pens acquired bottom six forward Daniel Winnik from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Zach Sill and two picks. Yesterday, the Pens added to their defensive corps by shipping Robert Bortuzzo to St. Louis for defenseman Ian Cole and sending Simon Despres to Anaheim for former Penguin Ben Lovejoy.
The Penguins are in full swing. They have played good hockey overall the last two weeks. They have been getting steady production out of a power play that was on life support. The penalty kill has been continuously good, even when the team hasn't been. Best of all, Crosby, Malkin, Letang, Hornqvist, Perron and Fleury have played exceptional hockey during this two week stretch. Now, the Penguins added to their team. Winnik will provide quality minutes to the bottom six as well as add to the already strong penalty kill. Ben Lovejoy has flourished since leaving the Penguins two years ago, and returns now as a bonafide top-4 defenseman in the NHL. Ian Cole, picked up for Bortuzzo, will provide depth for the defense and a player better suited to Mike Johnston's style of play.
The Pens look to continue their good play and build up a great stretch run tonight in Colorado. So let's shift gears and take a look at the Avalanche.
Collapsing Under the Weight
The Avalanche currently sit in 6th place in the Central Division in the NHL's Western Conference and eight points out of a wild card spot. They are not officially done, but their season is on life support. Instead of being buyers at the deadline, the Avs stood relatively still. There were rumors that Ryan O'Reilly was on the market and available, but no move was made. In fact, the only moves they made were minor; the biggest being sending former Penguin Max Talbot to Boston for Jordan Caron.
The Avs fell to the Penguins earlier in the season in their only meeting thus far. A 1-0 OT win at Consol Energy Center was the score on December 18th, with Blake Comeau getting the OT winner. Tonight, the Avs will face the Pens for the second and final time this season at the Pepsi Center.
On the Avalanche:
- The Avs are 27-25-11, good for 65 points and 6th in the Central Division.
- Despite a sub-.500 road record, the Avs have been better at home, posting a 16-13-3 record.
- The Avs are 5-5-0 in their last 10 games and lost their previous game to the Wild on Sunday.
Scoring Leaders:
- RW Jarome Iginla - 42pts (19G-23A)
- C Matt Duchene - 41pts (16G-25A)
- LW Alex Tanguay - 40pts (16G-24A)
- LW Gab Landeskog - 40pts (16G-24A)
- D Tyson Barrie - 39pts (10G-29A)
Injury Report:
- RW Nathan MacKinnon (broken nose) is considered a game-time decision tonight. He broke his nose last week.
- D Erik Johnson (knee) continues rehab from a knee injury. He is out tonight.
- RW Borna Rendulic (broken leg) is out tonight. He has missed the last month of play.
Avalanche Lines and Pairs:
- Gabriel Landeskog - Ryan O'Reilly - Nathan MacKinnon
- Jordan Caron - Matt Duchene - Jarome Iginla
- Alex Tanguay - John Mitchell - Dennis Everberg
- Cody McLeod - Marc-Andre Cliche - Joey Hishon
- Nate Guenin - Tyson Barrie
- Jan Hejda - Zach Redmond
- Brad Stuart - Nick Holden
Semyon Varlamov is expected to start in net.
News and Notes
Trade Acquisitions in the Last Week:
- D Ben Lovejoy acquired from Anaheim for D Simon Despres.
- D Ian Cole acquired from St. Louis for D Robert Bortuzzo.
- W Daniel Winnik from Toronto for Zach Sill, 2014 4th Round Pick and 2016 2nd Round Pick.
New Numbers for the New Players:
- Ben Lovejoy will wear number 12 in his return to Pittsburgh. He formerly wore number 6.
- Ian Cole will wear number 28, the same number he wore in St. Louis.
- Daniel Winnik is wearing number 26.
Injury News:
- D Christian Ehrhoff missed the game on Sunday after having a recurrence of concussion like-symptoms. He experienced them after the Washington game last week. He is a game-time decision tonight, as he has practiced the last two days.
- D Rob Scuderi is expected to play tonight after missing practice yesterday. He was "ill" according to Head Coach Mike Johnston.
Projected Pens Lines & Pairs
Lines are expected to be as follows:
- David Perron - Sidney Crosby - Patric Hornqvist
- Chris Kunitz - Evgeni Malkin - Blake Comeau
- Daniel Winnik - Brandon Sutter - Steve Downie
- Nick Spaling - Max Lapierre - Craig Adams
Ehrhoff did not skate in pairs this morning, so I'm expecting both Lovejoy and Cole to debut tonight. Project pairs:
- Kris Letang - Paul Martin
- Ben Lovejoy - Derrick Pouliot
- Ian Cole - Rob Scuderi
Flower is expected to start in net.
Keys to the Game
2. Big Guns: The big guys have been huge during this four game win streak. Crosby, Malkin, Hornqvist, Perron, Kunitz and Letang need to continue their great play of late. The Avs are down, this should be a game for these guys to put up a huge game.
3. The Power Play: This goes with number 2. The power play has been good of late, but we have seen how quickly it can go anemic. The Pens need to take advantage of those man advantage situations when they get them. That way they are comfortable come playoff time.
My 3 Players to Watch
2. Evgeni Malkin: The NHL's third star of the week needs to continue his hot play of late. He currently sits just behind the top in points in the league and could take control with another big night in Denver. I expect him to fly tonight, so watch for him.
3. Derrick Pouliot: The Pens seem to have a lot of confidence in this kid, and I expect him to play over the newly acquired Ian Cole. He has played excellent hockey of late, and I figure he will continue that during this important stretch run. He will likely pair with Rob Scuderi now, but the veteran presence should help his development as well.
Final Thoughts
Be sure to tune into the Twitter and Facebook pages for constant Pens coverage. I am able to keep up with twitter more than the blog. So be sure to check in there. Twitter: @BigDPensPregame Facebook: Big Dave's Pens Pregame. Look for the minion Crosby and Malkin profile picture.
That's it for me. Enjoy the game and talk to yall on Twitter and Facebook. LETS GO PENS!!!