The Pittsburgh Penguins (9-4-3) will complete the second of their weekend back-to-backs on Sunday when they host the LA Kings (6-5-4) at PPG Paints Arena.
The puck drops just after 2 p.m.
The game will be the NHL debut for goalie prospect Sergei Murashov, who has dominated AHL competition at just 21 years old. Murashov was the Penguins’ fourth-round pick in 2022.
“What we saw in games and practice, he’s extremely competitive. He’s always in the battle there, for loose pucks,” Muse said. “Off the ice, he’s very diligent for his training, his preparation.”
This season, as the primary goalie for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Murashov earned AHL goalie of the month honors for October, while posting a 5-2-0 record with a .931 save percentage.
The debut is just the latest in eagerly awaited prospects arriving in Pittsburgh, though Murashov’s stay is likely temporary as goalie Tristan Jarry is out for three weeks with a lower-body injury.
Saturday, the Penguins carried the play against the New Jersey Devils but received only one power play and again performed poorly in a shootout. The Penguins lost to New Jersey 2-1 via shootout.
Ryan Graves had the Penguins’ only goal. Graves and defense partner Connor Clifton were quite good Saturday. As was fellow rookie Ben Kindel, who played his second game on the top line with Sidney Crosby.
LA has been struggling. They are 2-2-1 in their last five games, but have scored an anemic 42 goals this season, which is third-worst in the Western Conference.
How to Watch
TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh
Radio: 105.9 The X
Expected Penguins Lines
Bryan Rust-Sidney Crosby-Ben Kindel
Tommy Novak-Evgeni Malkin-Anthony Mantha
Ville Koivunen-Danton Heinen-Kevin Hayes
Joona Koppanen-Blake Lizotte-Connor Dewar
Defense
Parker Wotherspoon-Erik Karlsson
Ryan Shea-Kris Letang
Ryan Graves-Connor Clifton
Goalie: Sergei Murashov
Expected Kings Lines
Joel Armia–Anze Kopitar–Adrian Kempe
Kevin Fiala–Quinton Byfield–Alex Laferriere
Andre Kuzmenko–Philip Danualt–Alex Laferriere
Warren Foegele-Alex Turcotte-Corey Perry
Defense
Mikey Anderson-Drew Doughty
Joel Edmundson-Brandt Clarke
Brian Dumoulin-Cody Ceci
Goalie: TBD
Special Teams
Penguins’ power play: 35.9%. Penguins penalty kill: 84.4%, 9th.
Kings power play: 17%, 22nd. Kings penalty kill: 77.2%, 20th.
Penguins Game Notes
The Penguins have wins in three consecutive games against Los Angeles (3-0-0), and a win tonight can give them their first four-game win streak against them since Nov. 22, 1975, to Feb. 15, 1976 (5-0-0).
The Penguins are 10-3-1 in their last 14 games against Western Conference opponents. The team is 5-2-0 against the West this year.
Forward Blake Lizotte spent the first six seasons of his professional career with the LA Kings organization from 2018-24. With the Kings, Lizotte appeared in 320 regular-season games, recording 106 points (37-69-106).
Sidney Crosby is tied for third in the NHL in goals (11) and is riding an active four-game point streak (3-2-5).
Sidney Crosby is one multi-point effort shy of becoming just the sixth player in NHL history with 500 or more multi-point games.
Ben Kindel has five goals this season and is second among all NHL rookies. He trails only Montreal’s Oliver Kapanen, who has six.
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Categorized: Penguins Pregame