The Pittsburgh Penguins face the Minnesota Wild with both teams looking to improve from slow starts to the season. The Penguins have a 6-7-3 record and with only two wins in their last 10 games have the second-worst record in the Metropolitan Division. The Wild have a 7-7-2 record and are in the middle of the Central Division. Both teams are looking to improve in their conferences and rebound from difficult starts and the upcoming game should be a great one as a result.
The Penguins are having a rough season despite their offense stepping up and scoring 3.50 goals per game. Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel, and Evgeni Malkin have scored 22 goals and 25 assists to lead the top two lines but the rest of the offense has also stepped up. Jason Zucker, Rickard Rakell, and Bryan Rust have scored 15 goals and 17 assists while defensemen Kris Letang and Jeff Petry have added three goals and 12 assists from the point to open up the offense.
The offense has looked great but the defense has let the Penguins down, allowing 3.56 goals per game including 10 goals in the last two games. Jan Rutta and Marcus Pettersson have combined for 1.8 defensive point shares but the rest of the unit has been awful, allowing opponents to find open shots on the net at will. In addition, goaltender Tristan Jarry has struggled with a .900 save percentage and a 3.55 goals-against average on 321 s hots.