{"id":455820,"date":"2025-12-18T15:38:16","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T15:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/455820\/"},"modified":"2025-12-18T15:38:16","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T15:38:16","slug":"game-preview-pittsburgh-penguins-ottawa-senators-12-18-25","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/455820\/","title":{"rendered":"Game Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Ottawa Senators 12\/18\/25"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\"><strong>Who:<\/strong> <strong>Pittsburgh Penguins <\/strong>(14-9-9, 37 points, 5th place Metropolitan Division) @ <strong>Ottawa Senators <\/strong>(15-13-4, 34 points, 7th place Atlantic Division)<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\"><strong>How to Watch<\/strong>: Broadcast locally Sportsnet Pittsburgh, TSN5 and RDS2 in Canada, streaming on ESPN+<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\"><strong>Pens\u2019 Path Ahead<\/strong>: The Pens stay on the road going to Montreal on Saturday night. Then the Canadiens will follow the Pens back to Pittsburgh for a game on Sunday. Then there\u2019s one more game (@TOR next Tuesday) prior to the December 24-27 holiday break.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\"><strong>Opponent Track<\/strong>: Been an up and down year so far for the Senators, they just completed a three-game road trip going 2-1-0, including a 3-2 OT victory in Winnipeg on Monday in their last game. Prior to that, Ottawa lost three homes games in a row earlier in December.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\"><strong>Season Series<\/strong>: This is the first OTT\/PIT game of the season, round two isn\u2019t until February 2nd in Pittsburgh. The Pens head back to Ottawa on March 26th to finish the season series out.<\/p>\n<p>Getting to know the Senators<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Brady Tkachuk &#8211; Tim Stutzle &#8211; Fabian Zetterlund<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">David Perron &#8211; Dylan Cozens &#8211; Drake Batherson<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Michael Amadio &#8211; Ridley Greig &#8211; Claude Giroux<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Kurtis MacDermid &#8211; Stephen Halliday &#8211; Nick Cousins<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Jake Sanderson \/ Artem Zub<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Tyler Kleven \/ Jordan Spence<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Nikolas Matinpalo \/ Nick Jensen<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\"><strong>Goalies: <\/strong>Linus Ullmark and Leevi Merilainen<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\"><strong>Potential scratches<\/strong>: Olle Lycksell, Dennis Gilbert<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\"><strong>Injured Reserve<\/strong>: Shane Pinto, Lars Eller, Thomas Chabot<\/p>\n<ul class=\"duet--article--unordered-list _1nfb3k4i feuejx0 ls9zuh1\">\n<li class=\"feuejx1\">Chabot skated in practice yesterday on an extra pair, he\u2019s already been announced as out for tonight but he should be back for the Sens in the near future. The Pens won\u2019t mind him not being quite ready to return tonight, the blueliner has 14 career points (3G+11A) in 16 games against Pittsburgh.<\/li>\n<li class=\"feuejx1\">Perron and Giroux are by far the oldest players on the team, set in positions to help the youngsters along.<\/li>\n<li class=\"feuejx1\">Ullmark left yesterday\u2019s skate early but coach Travis Green reported \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SunGarrioch\/status\/2001341927128715635\">no concerns<\/a>\u201d about the goalie\u2019s status moving forward. Ullmark has played four out of the last five games and has won his last two starts, though he has allowed 11 total goals in his last four games.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a class=\"_1eezmj01\" href=\"https:\/\/platform.pensburgh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/123\/2025\/12\/oy.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0,0,100,100\" data-pswp-height=\"733\" data-pswp-width=\"688\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img alt=\"\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" class=\"w91vxg0\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent;background-size:cover;background-position:50% 50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-image:url(&quot;data:image\/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' %3E%3Cfilter id='b' color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'\/%3E%3CfeColorMatrix values='1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 100 -1' result='s'\/%3E%3CfeFlood x='0' y='0' width='100%25' height='100%25'\/%3E%3CfeComposite operator='out' in='s'\/%3E%3CfeComposite in2='SourceGraphic'\/%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'\/%3E%3C\/filter%3E%3Cimage width='100%25' height='100%25' x='0' y='0' preserveAspectRatio='none' style='filter: url(%23b);' href='data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mN8+R8AAtcB6oaHtZcAAAAASUVORK5CYII='\/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot;)\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/oy.jpg\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul class=\"duet--article--unordered-list _1nfb3k4i feuejx0 ls9zuh1\">\n<li class=\"feuejx1\">Stutzle is always the straw to stir the drink for the Sens, he\u2019s hot with four goals over the last five games.<\/li>\n<li class=\"feuejx1\">Cozens is starting to pick up the points too, six assists in the last five games makes up almost half of his season total.<\/li>\n<li class=\"feuejx1\">Is it a kinder, gentler Brady Tkachuk? Probably not, but only 8 PIMs in 12 games since his return stands out. Tkachuk has notched 117-134 PIMs in each of the last four seasons. For a guy who has averaged almost 33 goals over the past four seasons, his touch in that department is down a notch too as he makes his mid-season return from injury but he\u2019s been able to produce points to normal levels via racking up the assists. Then again, it\u2019s not that easy being Tkachuk these days, he has set what is believed to be a record of being high-sticked for five straight games. Hopefully for his (and the Pens\u2019) sake the Pittsburgh players can avoid doing that tonght.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\"><strong>Key matchup: Pittsburgh shooters vs. Ottawa goalies<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"_1eezmj01\" href=\"https:\/\/platform.pensburgh.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/123\/2025\/12\/pitot.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;crop=0,0,100,100\" data-pswp-height=\"527\" data-pswp-width=\"917\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img alt=\"\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"fill\" class=\"w91vxg0\" style=\"position:absolute;height:100%;width:100%;left:0;top:0;right:0;bottom:0;color:transparent;background-size:cover;background-position:50% 50%;background-repeat:no-repeat;background-image:url(&quot;data:image\/svg+xml;charset=utf-8,%3Csvg xmlns='http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' %3E%3Cfilter id='b' color-interpolation-filters='sRGB'%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'\/%3E%3CfeColorMatrix values='1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 100 -1' result='s'\/%3E%3CfeFlood x='0' y='0' width='100%25' height='100%25'\/%3E%3CfeComposite operator='out' in='s'\/%3E%3CfeComposite in2='SourceGraphic'\/%3E%3CfeGaussianBlur stdDeviation='20'\/%3E%3C\/filter%3E%3Cimage width='100%25' height='100%25' x='0' y='0' preserveAspectRatio='none' style='filter: url(%23b);' href='data:image\/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAEAAAABCAQAAAC1HAwCAAAAC0lEQVR42mN8+R8AAtcB6oaHtZcAAAAASUVORK5CYII='\/%3E%3C\/svg%3E&quot;)\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/pitot.jpg\"\/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The Penguins need to get better at scoring goals at 5v5. Going up against Ottawa could be a gift \u2014 if they can get through a stingy defense that ranks among the league best in not allowing shot attempts or expected goals. The downside and weakness of Ottawa has been in net, where goaltending has been leaky so far this season. The penalty kill, where it\u2019s often said the goalie is the most important PK\u2019er, also is among league worst and could be an area to pick up the slack for 5v5 struggles tonight.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Rickard Rakell &#8211; Sidney Crosby &#8211; Bryan Rust<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Anthony Mantha &#8211; Tommy Novak &#8211; Justin Brazeau<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Rutger McGroarty &#8211; Ben Kindel &#8211; Kevin Hayes<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Connor Dewar &#8211; Danton Heinen &#8211; Noel Acciari<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Parker Wotherspoon \/ Erik Karlsson<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Brett Kulak \/ Jack St. Ivany<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\"><strong>Goalies: <\/strong> Stuart Skinner and Arturs Silovs<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\"><strong>Potential Scratches:<\/strong> Ville Koivunen, Ryan Graves, Connor Clifton<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\"><strong>IR:<\/strong> Blake Lizotte, Evgeni Malkin, Filip Hallander, Caleb Jones<\/p>\n<ul class=\"duet--article--unordered-list _1nfb3k4i feuejx0 ls9zuh1\">\n<li class=\"feuejx1\">There was a slight twist in lines at practice yesterday in the mid-line wings with Mantha and Hayes trading places. Koivunen rotated in with that line.<\/li>\n<li class=\"feuejx1\">Malkin and Lizotte skated yesterday prior to practice, but coach Dan Muse said there is no change of status for either. He also said yesterday wasn\u2019t the first time they had been on the ice, which could be a positive signal that the recoveries are on track.<\/li>\n<li class=\"feuejx1\">It\u2019ll be interesting to see what the Pens do in net tonight. Skinner had to go through the whirlwind of not being on the ice from Thursday night all the way until the game day skater yesterday morning, then all the emotions of playing his newly former Oiler teammates. Does he get the nod to go back in there? Would it be a gain to go back to Silovs? There may not be a right or wrong answer, though it\u2019ll be notable which gets selected.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The Pens will have extra help on this road trip where fathers and mentors are joining up to go to Ottawa and Montreal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Who: Pittsburgh Penguins (14-9-9, 37 points, 5th place Metropolitan Division) @ Ottawa Senators (15-13-4, 34 points, 7th place&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":455821,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42],"tags":[114893,293,62,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-455820","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-game-preview","9":"tag-nhl","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-united-states","12":"tag-unitedstates","13":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115741323131701062","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455820","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=455820"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455820\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/455821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=455820"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=455820"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=455820"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}