Game Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Winnipeg Jets 10/20/2024

The Pens start out a four-game Western Canada road trip with a matinee game against the undefeated Jets.

Who: Pittsburgh Penguins (3-3-0, 6 points) @ Winnipeg Jets (4-0, 8 points)

When: 3:00 p.m. ET

How to Watch: Sportsnet Pittsburgh, TSN3 for those north of the border, national stream on ESPN+

Pens’ Path Ahead: This is the start of a road trip through Western Canada road trip for the Pens, who have road games against the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks coming up next. Last season this road trip took place in February, as the Pens went 1-3 with a win Vancouver followed by losses in Seattle, Calgary and Edmonton.

Opponent Track: The Jets stretched their season-opening undefeated streak to four games with an 8-3 win over the San Jose Sharks on Friday. After starting out the season on the road with a 6-0 shutout of the Oilers, the Jets defeated the Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild in overtime at home. They’ll finish out their four-game homestand this afternoon against the Penguins.

Season Series: The Penguins and Jets split the 2023-24 season series, with the Penguins claiming a 3-0 shutout on the road four days before losing 2-1 at home last February.

Getting to know the Jets

Projected lines

FORWARDS

Kyle Connor – Mark Scheifele – Gabriel Vilardi

Cole Perfetti – Vladislav Namestnikov – Nikolaj Ehlers

Nino Niederreiter – Adam Lowry – Mason Appleton

Morgan Barron – Rasmus Kupari – Alex Iafallo

DEFENSEMEN

Josh Morrissey / Dylan DeMelo

Dylan Samberg / Neal Pionk

Haydn Fleury / Colin Miller

Goalies: Connor Hellebuyck, Eric Comrie

Possible scratches: None

IR: Logan Stanley, Ville Heinola, Jaret Anderson-Dolan

• Defenseman Stanley rejoined the Jets for practice on Thursday in a sign he could be nearing his return from the knee injury that sidelined him during training camp.
• The Jets will honor Bryan Little, who last played in 2019 and signed a one-day contract in September in order to retire with the franchise, with a ceremony before the game.

Player stats

(via hockeydb)

• Friday’s win over the Sharks was a big night for Cole Perfetti, Neal Pionk and Vladislav Namestnikov, who each recorded their first four-point NHL performances to help the Jets remain one of three undefeated teams in the league.

• The victory also marked Hellebuyck’s 500th career start. It’s a small sample size, but his .952 save percentage is a good indication of both how solid the reigning Vezina winner has looked so far, particularly when the Jets’ offense flagged in OT wins against the Hawks and Wild.

• The Jets have scored on seven of 14 power play opportunities so far this season and will present a serious test for the Pens’ penalty kill should they get the opportunity. They also scored four goals in the first period against the Sharks, an alarming sign for a Penguins team that has struggled early in games so far this season.

And now for the Pens

Infographic courtesy of the Pittsburgh Penguins

Projected lines

FORWARDS

Anthony Beauvillier – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust

Drew O’Connor – Evgeni Malkin – Rickard Rakell

Valtteri Puustinen – Lars Eller – Jesse Puljujarvi

Kevin Hayes – Cody Glass – Noel Acciari

DEFENSEMEN

Matt Grzelcyk / Kris Letang

Marcus Pettersson / Erik Karlsson

Ryan Graves / Ryan Shea

Goalies: Joel Blomqvist, Tristan Jarry, Alex Nedeljkovic (he’s back with the team!)

Potential Scratches: Michael Bunting, Jack St. Ivany

IR: Matt Nieto (knee surgery), Blake Lizotte, Vasily Ponomarev

All three players on IR skated prior to Pens practice yesterday but none will accompany the team on its week-long road trip.

The Penguins’ middle two lines had a new look at practice on Saturday. It looks like Michael Bunting and Jack St. Ivany of healthy scratches this weekend, while Drew O’Connor might have earned a bump up to the second line with his goal in Friday’s loss to the Canes.

The scratch likely will not come as surprise for Bunting. The winger skated fewer than 13 minutes and spent some time with the fourth line during Friday’s loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, and head coach Mike Sullivan has been outwardly critical of his performance so far.

• Alex Nedeljkovic is back with the Penguins, and he said on Saturday he’s feeling “really good.”

Does that mean he’ll get the start against the Jets? It’s still up in the air. All three Pens goaltenders will be making the Western Canada road trip. Based on Saturday’s practice it looks like Blomqvist is still functioning as a third-stringer:

Nedeljkovic made one start in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton before rejoining the Penguins roster. He made 33 saves in Friday’s 4-3 win over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms during his conditioning appearance.

As pointed out by Penguins PR, Jarry has a 5-1 record with a .960 save percentage and 1.16 goals against average in six career outings against the Jets, so there’s a chance the Pens could give him another shot at earning back the starting job in Winnipeg.