The Pittsburgh Penguins are gearing up to face the Colorado Avalanche in an inter-conference showdown between two talented teams.
Per Josh Getzoff, Arturs Silovs will be in the net when the puck drops on Friday night. Silovs has been off to a solid start, despite posting an .885 save percentage. He’s 3-1-0 in four games with a 2.72 GAA, a .500 quality starts percentage, and a shutout on the season.
Silovs helped the Penguins secure a shutout in his first start against the Philadelphia Flyers. He fell into a small slump over his next two starts when he allowed 10 combined goals (five each) in a win vs. the Montreal Canadiens and a loss to the Washington Capitals. Montreal and Washington had a combined 52 shots on goal, giving Silovs just an .808 save percentage across both matchups.
Silovs rebounded in his most recent appearance — a shootout win on Oct. 10 vs. the Dallas Stars — when he faced 25 shots and made 24 saves. Unless there’s a last-minute decision regarding the starting goaltender, Silovs will face the second-highest-scoring team in hockey. Through seven games, the Avalanche have scored 31 goals, or 4.43 per contest.
Pittsburgh Penguins Projected Lines And Pairings
Per Daily Faceoff, Rickard Rakell, Sidney Crosby, and Bryan Rust will make up the Penguins’ projected first line. Egor Chinakhov, Tommy Novak, and Evgeni Malkin are the likely second line. Malkin and Novak have been the stars of the forward group so far this season, leading all Penguins forwards with five points and three goals.
Andrei Kuzmenko is slated to be on the third line alongside Ben Kindel and Nicholas Robertson. Nicholas Robertson has been a revelation so far for the Penguins, with four goals in seven games. So far, he has an eye-popping 30.8 shooting percentage. And finally, Connor Dewar, Blake Lizotte, and Elmer Soderblom are the projected fourth liners.
As for the defensive pairings, Declan Carlile and Erik Karlsson are the slated top duo. Karlsson is in vintage form, leading the team with seven points (all assists). Samuel Girard and Kaedan Korczak are the projected middle pairing. Like Karlsson, Girard has been a point-producing machine, with six points and a goal. The third pairing looks like it will be Spencer Stastney and Kris Letang.
Penguins, Avalanche Will Look To Gain Ground In Their Divisions
The Penguins are dealing with a hot Carolina Hurricanes (13 points) team and a rebounding New York Rangers (12 points). They’re also behind the Washington Capitals and New Jersey Devils (8 points), and find themselves tied with the New York Islanders (seven points). If the Penguins want to keep pace with their division early, it’s pivotal that they beat Colorado.
On the other end, the Avalanche are fourth in the Central, behind the Utah Mammoth, Minnesota Wild, and Winnipeg Jets. The Central is shaping up to be a tough division, with Winnipeg surprising early, Minnesota playing as advertised, and Utah continuing to take the next steps.
Add those stakes to the fact that Colorado and Pittsburgh have been relatively effective defensively, and this will be an interesting contest. If the Pittsburgh Penguins can stop the Avalanche’s high-octane scoring, they will make this a tough matchup.
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