Riding a three-game winning streak, the Penguins return to PPG Paints Arena in their traditional Thanksgiving Eve game to play host to the Calgary Flames.
The Penguins have won their last two Thanksgiving Eve games, both against the Vancouver Canucks. Last year, the final score was 4-1, while in 2019, the Pens rallied for an 8-6 win. No Thanksgiving Eve games were played in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Coach Mike Sullivan said playing on Thanksgiving Eve is always fun for the team.
At Tuesday’s practice, Sullivan made a few adjustments to his power play units, seeing that his team is 24th in the NHL with a 18.8 power play conversion percentage. The moves consisted of sending defenseman Jeff Petry to the first line while demoting winger Bryan Rust to the second.
Sullivan said this shift, like many others, is to rotate different players in while finding different ways of success.
One thing that Sullivan didn’t indicate would change is the team’s penalty kill, which he says has been impressive over the past couple of games.
Sullivan mentioned just one name on the injury front: goaltender Casey DeSmith, who is being evaluated for an upper-body injury. He is a gametime decision for tonight.
Puck drop for tonight’s game is set for 7 p.m. You can hear the action on U92.5 FM and U92radio.com at 6 p.m.
Before the game, the Penguins will honor Evgeni Malkin with a pregame ceremony honoring his 1,000th career game, which he eclipsed on Sunday against Chicago.
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