Pittsburgh Penguins (4-2-1) vs. Vancouver Canucks (1-5-2)
Following a frantic Thursday, we have only six NHL games on tap for Friday, October 28, and this inter-conference duel is one of them. The Pittsburgh Penguins are traveling to Canada to take on the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena, and the game starts at 10 PM.
Pittsburgh is coming to Vancouver as a firm -155 moneyline favorite, while the total is set at 6.5 goals. Last season, these inter-conference rivals have met twice, and the Penguins won both games with an identical 4-1 scoreline.
The Pittsburgh Penguins are on a five-game road trip, and four of those games will be played against the Western Conference teams. After defeating the Columbus Blue Jackets 6-3, the Penguins lost to the Edmonton Oilers 6-3 and Calgary Flames 4-1. Evgeni Malkin scored the only goal for Pittsburgh in Calgary, and the Penguins couldn’t get more than that against Jacob Markstrom, who registered 32 saves.
“Some periods, I think we look really good, and then other periods, it's a struggle. I think we've got to try to find a way to do a better job at bringing just a little bit more consistency,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said.
The captain and Pittsburgh’s best player, Sidney Crosby, is the top point producer so far in the season with 11 (G 4, A7). Evgeni Malkin has seven (G 4, A 3), while several players collected six points. The Penguins are ranked No. 1 in the NHL in goals per game with 4.29, while they are 17th in goals allowed with 3.00 per game. Tristan Jarry (4-1-0; 2.82 GAA) is a probable goaltender against Vancouver on Friday.