Pittsburgh Penguins At Winnipeg Jets Preview
The Pittsburgh Penguins will face one of the best teams in the NHL on Saturday in Winnipeg against the Jets.
The Jets have been red hot to open the season, winning eight of their first 11 games. They're currently first in the Central Division after winning the Presidents' Trophy last season.
Their top line of Connor-Scheifele-Vilardi has been deadly to start the year. Scheifele leads the team with nine goals and 18 points in 11 games, while Connor is second on the team with six goals and 15 points in 11 games. Vilardi has four goals and 11 points in 11 games.
Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck has been the best goaltender in the league to start the year, saving 9.6 goals above expected with a .922 save percentage. Assuming he starts, the Penguins will want to get a lot of traffic in front of him and get him moving. Eric Comrie would start if the Jets decide to rest Hellebuyck.
The Penguins practiced in Minnesota on Friday but didn't have Justin Brazeau available. He looked healthy during Thursday's game against the Minnesota Wild, so it may have just been a maintenance day. However, if he does miss Saturday's game, Philip Tomasino will come in for him.
Harrison Brunicke took Matt Dumba's place on the bottom pair during Friday's practice, which is a sign that he could be coming back into the lineup on Saturday. He'd be paired with Owen Pickering, which was a standouts pairing during training camp and the preseason.
Here were the full practice lines:
Forwards
Hallander-Crosby-Rust
Mantha-Malkin-Tomasino
Koivunen-Kindel-Novak
Dewar-Lizotte-Acciari
Kevin Hayes was also practicing and is getting closer to a return.
Defense
Wotherspoon-Karlsson
Shea-Letang
Pickering-Brunicke
Connor Clifton and Matt Dumba were skating on the fourth defensive pairing.
Arturs Silovs will likely start in goal for this game, assuming head coach Dan Muse stays true to his goalie rotation. Tristan Jarry started against the Wild on Thursday.
Puck drop is set for 3 p.m. ET, and fans can watch it on SportsNet Pittsburgh or listen to it on 105.9 'The X.'
Red Wings' Alex DeBrincat Erupts For 7 Points in 4 Games After Scoring Slump
After a slow start to the season, Detroit Red Wings winger Alex DeBrincat has erupted onto the scoreboard, proving why he remains one of the NHL’s premier offensive threats. The winger went scoreless in the first eight games of the year, leaving fans and analysts wondering when or if he would find his rhythm. That question has been answered emphatically over the past week.
DeBrincat has now scored in four straight games and recorded three consecutive multi-point performances, fueling a five-game point streak. Over the last seven days, he has tallied four goals and three assists for seven points across four games, ranking him among the hottest players in the league. He trails just Ottawa’s Drake Batherson, who leads the week with nine points, including four goals and five assists.
Quick hands Cat!
Overall this season, DeBrincat has recorded four goals and a team-leading ten assists for 14 points in 12 games, second only to captain Dylan Larkin’s 17 points in the same number of contests. The 26-year-old forward is building on one of his best seasons in years, coming off a 39-goal, 31-assist campaign for 70 points, which marked his highest goal output since the 2021-22 season when he scored 41 goals.
BINGO BANGO WHAT A PLAY 93 → 22 → 92
Consistently a point-per-game producer, DeBrincat has regularly hovered in the 70 to 80 point range. If the Red Wings maintain their current hot streak, he has a real shot at challenging his career-high 78 points from 2021-22. With his scoring touch back and his playmaking ability on full display, DeBrincat is quickly reasserting himself as the engine of Detroit’s offense.
