The Pittsburgh Penguins are 8-3-1 in their last 12 games, and they hope to keep riding that momentum heading into the holiday break.
But they will be one more man down in their final game before the hiatus.
Rookie defenseman Owen Pickering – who was injured during the second period of Saturday’s 3-0 loss against the New Jersey Devils – was placed on injured reserve ahead of Monday’s game with a concussion. In a corresponding move, defenseman Nathan Clurman was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
As such, the Penguins will continue to roll with a defensive core that is down two left defensemen in Pickering and Marcus Pettersson, who was placed on injured reserve with an upper-body injury last week.
But adversity hasn’t stopped the Penguins from battling hard during this winning streetch of hockey.
“I think it’s leadership,” head coach Mike Sullivan said. “I think leadership has a lot to do with that. I think our guys, Obviously, when you don’t feel like you’re at your best, or you come out on the wrong side of the score, it’s important to try to get back in the win column. Urgency is an important aspect of it, and I think leadership has a lot to do with it.”
Goaltender Tristan Jarry will get the start in net again for the Penguins. Although he took home the loss in New Jersey, he did make a lot of key saves to keep the Penguins within striking distance of a win on Saturday.
The rest of their lineup is pretty much the same as it was in the third period against New Jersey, with Ryan Graves slotting into the lineup in Pickering’s absence:
Philadelphia currently sits one point behind the Penguins in the wild card standings with one game in hand. They are 4-5-1 in their last 10 games, and they are coming off of a win against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
