The Pittsburgh Penguins face the Edmonton Oilers with both teams off to great starts to the season. The Penguins have a 4-0-1 record and have won back-to-back games to boast the best record in the Metropolitan Division. The Oilers have a 2-3 record but have played better than their record indicates and are expected to be among the best teams in the Pacific Division. Both teams have star-studded rosters and could potentially meet up in the Stanley Cup Final, making this game arguably the best on scheduled on the night.
The Penguins are off to a great start to the season with their offense leading the way, scoring 5.20 goals per game including 12 goals in the last two games. Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust have scored five goals and 10 assists to lead the top line but the entire offense has looked great to start the season. Danton Heinen, Evgeni Malkin, and Kasperi Kapanen have combined for six goals and nine assists while defensemen Jeff Petry, Kris Letang, and Marcus Pettersson have added a goal and 11 assists from the blue line to open up the offense.
The offense has been dominant but the defense has also stepped up, allowing only 2.2o goals per game. Kris Letang and Brian Dumoulin have led the top pairing but the rest of the defense has also been great with Jeff Petry, Marcus Pettersson, and the rest of the unit forcing turnovers in all three zones and turning defense into instant offense. In addition, goalte nder Tristan Jarry has been great in the net with a .941 save percentage and a 2.01 goals-against average on 136 shots