The Pittsburgh Penguins are heading to the United Center on Thursday evening to take on the Chicago Blackhawks in non-conference action. The Penguins (23-19-7, 53 points) are seventh in the Metropolitan Division and are on a two-game losing streak after a 2-1 road loss against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday. The Blackhawks (14-36-3, 31 points) are on a seven-game losing streak after a 4-2 home loss on Tuesday against the Vancouver Canucks. The Blackhawks won the only other game this season between them as on Oct. 10 had a 4-2 road victory.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have been trying to step up and get closer to being in the divisional race. They rank 28th offensively with 144 total goals scored thus far and center Sidney Crosby is leading the offense with 52 points (28 goals, 24 assists) right now and scored five points in his last five games. In his previous game against the Winnipeg Jets, he finished without any points on one shot in 19:39 on the ice. They are brutal on the power play right now as they have converted on 23-of-165 (13.94 percent) of their attempts up to this point.
Alex Nedeljkovic is expected to be the starter inside the crease for this matchup and has been doing decently well so far. On the season, he is 8-4-3 with 2.63 goals given up and a .917 save percentage. He struggled in his last game against the Minnesota Wild as he allowed three goals on 30 shot attempts in a loss. The Penguins have been a dominant defensive team as their 131 goals allowed ranks second in the league. They are a bit better than league average in terms of penalty kills as they have killed 120-of-147 (81.63 percent) of penalties against them.
This goal will always be special for the Ludvig family ??
One NHL goal and counting for John Ludvig! pic.twitter.com/AEyi8XaMdz
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 15, 2024
Injury Report for Pittsburgh
Defenseman Kris Letang: Undisclosed (Probable)
Center Noel Acciari: Concussion (OUT)
Center Jansen Harkins: Concussion (OUT)
Left winger Matt Nieto: Knee (OUT)