Game Preview: Vancouver Canucks @ Pittsburgh Penguins November 27, 2024

Who: Vancouver Canucks (11-6-3, 25 points, 3rd place Pacific Division) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (7-12-4, 18 points, 8th place Metropolitan Division)

When: 7:30 p.m. ET

Here’s how to watch: Locally on Sportsnet Pittsburgh, broadcast on ESPN+

The path of the pens lies before us: Three games in four days start today. The Pens are in Boston on Friday night (note the special 6:30 start time!) and then are back home to host the Calgary Flames on Saturday. Pittsburgh will stay at home for a while, then the Florida Panthers will be at PPG Paints Arena next Tuesday.

Enemy bar: Vancouver got off to a great start, but since November 7th they have traded wins and losses regularly: WLWLWLLW for a 4-4-0 record before last night where they had to play in Boston and then travel to Pittsburgh in the early hours of the morning . It was a good night in Beantown, with Jake DeBrusk scoring in his first game against his former team and Kevin Lankinen making 32 saves in a 2-0 win.

Season series: The Penguins were already playing well in Vancouver, losing a 4-3 game in which the Canucks scored four goals in the second period to move into the lead and stay. Tonight marks the conclusion of the 2024-25 PIT/VAN season series.

Hidden statistics: If newly signed Philip Tomasino makes his debut with the Penguins, he would be the eighth player to do so this season (Stick Tap Pens PR).

Hidden Statistics 2.0: The Canucks have a record of 8-1-0 in away games this season.

Get to know the Canucks

Projected lines

FORWARD

Jake DeBrusk – Elias Pettersson – Kiefer Sherwood

Dakota Joshua – Pius Suter – Conor Garland

Brock Boeser – Teddy Blueger – Danton Heinen

Arshdeep Bains – Aatu Raty – Nils Hoglander

DEFENDER

Quinn Hughes / Filip Hronek

Carson Soucy/Tyler Myers

Erik Brannstrom / Noah Juulsen

Goalkeeper: Arturs Silovs on the net tonight? (Kevin Lankinen played yesterday)

IR: Thatcher Demko, Derek Forbort

Not in the squad: JT Miller (indefinite leave, personal)

Possible scratches: Vincent Desharnais, Max Sasson

—Vancouver has been in waiting mode lately. The Canucks cruised to a 4-3 victory in Ottawa on Saturday despite missing four of their top players (Boeser, Demko were injured, Miller was on leave and Hughes was sent off in the first period). The players were proud of the “character” win and found a way to get a result despite missing so many of their best players.

—The tide seems to be turning for the better in this regard, Boeser has been out since November 7th with a concussion and was able to make his comeback last night against Boston.

—There is also positive news about Demko. The goaltender has been out for eight months since Game 1 of the playoffs after suffering a knee tear, rare in hockey, which sounded like a frustrating time for everyone. Demko is accompanying the team on this long road trip to the East and reports are circulating with information that he could play in the upcoming games. That’s not something the Pens have to worry about tonight, but it’s welcome for the Canucks, who had to make do with their second- and third-line goaltenders in the first quarter this season.

–Bad luck for Max Sasson; The undrafted 24-year-old scored a goal in his NHL debut (with a cool moment along the way), but coach Rick Tocchet had to reluctantly leave Sasson out of the lineup last night to bring Boeser back in.

Player stats

(above hockeydb)

Note: Last night’s game against Boston is not included

—Elias Pettersson’s stats aren’t eye-popping after a slow start, but the arrow is pointing up. The talented Swede had 4G+6A in his last seven games prior to last night’s game against Boston.

—Kiefer Sherwood is the type of mid-level free agent signing ($1.5 million for two years) every team is looking for. The recent absences of Miller and Boeser have given Sherwood a larger role and, as of last night, he had scored three goals in as many games.

—Sherwood is close to signing Jake DeBrusk as a free agent ($5.5 million for four years), but DeBrusk is starting to gain some momentum with his recent 2G+1A night in Ottawa and the huge game-winning goal to win last night in Boston. The Canucks will need him to acclimate and increase his production as the year progresses.

And now to the pens

Projected lines

FORWARD

Bryan Rust – Sidney Crosby – Rickard Rakell

Anthony Beauvillier – Evgeni Malkin – Philip Tomasino

Drew O’Connor – Blaze Lizotte – Michael Bunting

Matt Nieto – Noel Acciari – Kevin Hayes

DEFENDER

Owen Pickering / Kris Letang

Marcus Pettersson / Erik Karlsson

Ryan Graves / Matt Grzelcyk

Goalkeeper: Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic

Possible scratches: Ryan Shea, Jack St Ivany, Jesse Puljujarvi

IR: Cody Glass (concussion),

—Welcome to Pittsburgh, Philip Tomasino! The junior is likely in a low-TOI role, but could have a chance to make a good first impression if he gets a few shifts with Malkin.

-Speaking of roles, Owen Pickering was listed on the first pair for the second straight game, but played just 12:09 in the last game against Utah. The Pens are moving him along slowly, even if he moves up the lineup to get a few appearances with Letang, it’s not yet on a full-time basis, which is natural enough for a 20-year-old with four NHL games in his career .

– Lizotte worked with the third line in training yesterday and the absence of Valtteri Puustinen opens up space on the active roster for Lizotte to return to the 23-player squad. The Pens will learn today at 2 p.m. whether Puustinen will be released and assigned to the AHL or if he will move to a new organization.

Big three

The Pens’ big boys have had a lot to offer against Vancouver of late. From the team:

The Penguins have earned points in seven of their last 10 meetings against Vancouver, dating back to October 27, 2018 (6-3-1). During that time, Pittsburgh has scored four or more goals six times.

The Penguins start tomorrow with points in five straight home games against the Canucks.

The trio of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang averaged an even 1.00 points per game against Vancouver and combined for 69 points (27G-42A) in 69 total games.

Points against Vancouver, PIT Big Three

Player GP GA PTS

Evgeny Malkin 23 13 16 29
Sidney Crosby 24 12 12 24
Kris Letang 22 2 14 16
Totals 69 27 42 69

Grateful times

Can the Pens turn the clock back to the good old days on a special night? One of the nicer little events on the NHL schedule is the (almost) annual Thanksgiving Eve home game in Pittsburgh. His memory has also been improved because of the results, the Pens have a 7-2-2 record in home games the night before Thanksgiving in the Sidney Crosby era.

• 2023: 0-1 loss to the NY Rangers
• 2022: 2-1 (SO) win over Calgary
• 2021: 4-1 win over Vancouver
• 2019: 8-6 win over Vancouver
• 2017: 5-2 loss to Vancouver
• 2015: 4:3 (OT) win over St. Louis
• 2014: 4:3 (OT) win over Toronto
• 2013: 6-5 (SO) win over Toronto
• 2011: 2:3 (OT) defeat against STL
• 2009: 3-1 win over Montreal
• 2006: 3:4 (SO) defeat against Boston

The Pens won road games in NYI (2008) and Buffalo (2010) on the fourth Wednesday in November, marking the rare road game on that day on the calendar.