Game Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Ottawa Senators 12/14/2024

The Pens are looking to follow up a nine-goal outburst with a second straight win tonight in Ottawa.

Who: Pittsburgh Penguins (13-14-4, 30 points, 7th place Metropolitan Division) @ Ottawa Senators (14-13-2, 30 points, 5th place Atlantic Division)

When: 7 p.m. ET

How to Watch: Local broadcast on SportsNet Pittsburgh, TVAS2 and SN1 in Canada, streaming on ESPN+

Pens’ Path Ahead: The Pens return home on Tuesday to take on the Los Angeles Kings, then hop back on the road for away games against the Nashville Predators on Thursday and the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.

Opponent Track: The Senators are heading into this contest on the second half of a back-to-back. After an up-and-down start to the season that included five-game losing streak in November, the Senators have bounced back to win four of their last five games, including a convincing 3-0 shutout of the Carolina Hurricanes last night.

Season Series: The Pens will meet the Senators two more times, both at PPG Paints Arena, with upcoming matchups scheduled for Jan. 11 and March 30.

Hidden Stat: Tonight’s game will mark the 68th time former Philadelphia Flyers captain Claude Giroux has played against the Penguins. In 67 prior matchups he has 21 goals and 51 assists for 72 points.

Getting to know the Senators

Projected lines

FORWARDS

Brady Tkachuk - Josh Norris - Drake Batherson

Claude Giroux - Tim Stützle - Adam Gaudette

Nick Cousins - Shane Pinto - Michael Amadio

Noah Gregor - Zack Ostapchuk - Ridly Greig

DEFENSEMEN

Thomas Chabot - Nick Jensen

Jake Sanderson - Travis Hamonic

Tyler Kleven - Jacob Bernard-Docker

Goalies: Anton Forsberg (Linus Ullmark started last night)

IR: Artem Zub (LTIR, foot)

Potential Scratches: David Perron (upper body)

• Anton Forsberg is set to get the start tonight against the Pens. He posted shutouts earlier this season against the Utah Hockey Club and Seattle Kraken, but struggled in his last two starts; he’s allowed a total of seven goals against on a combined save percentage of .816 in losses to the Las Angeles Kings and New York Islanders. He’ll be looking to regain his footing with a win at home.
• Former Penguin check-in: David Perron, who spent parts of the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons with the Pens, is sidelined with an upper-body injury.

Player stats

(via hockeydb)

• The NHL announced on Friday that Josh Norris would be fined $2,000 for embellishment. Norris had previously gotten called for diving twice in the span of a month.
• Drake Batherson marked the second hat trick of his career, and his first since 2021, during the Senators’ Wednesday win over the Anaheim Ducks.
• The Sens headed into Friday having scored on 27.6 percent of their power play opportunities, good for fifth best in the league, before going 0-for-2 against the Hurricanes. Jake Sanderson has had an up-and-down season so far, but at his best can quarterback the top unit.
• The Senators looked like a playoff hockey team against the Hurricanes last night. The Pens will gladly take Forsberg after Ullmark made looked solid with his 32-save shutout of Carolina.

And now for the Pens

Projected lines

FORWARDS

Rickard Rakell - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust

Michael Bunting - Evgeni Malkin - Philip Tomasino

Drew O’Connor - Cody Glass - Anthony Beauvillier

Matt Nieto - Blaze Lizotte - Noel Acciari

DEFENSEMEN

Owen Pickering / Kris Letang

Marcus Pettersson / Erik Karlsson

Ryan Graves / Matt Grzelcyk

Goalies: Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic

Potential Scratches: Ryan Shea, Jesse Puljujarvi, Kevin Hayes

IR: none

• The Pens traveled to Ottawa from Montreal by train on Friday.

• Seems likely the Pens are planning to stick on the Rakell-Crosby-Rust line for now. Those three have combined for 32 points (14 goals, 18 assists) in the last nine games, per Pens PR.
• Another fun fact from Pens PR: Matt Nieto’s contribution to Thursday’s blowout over the Canadiens made him the 20th Penguin to score a goal this season.