Penguins have holes to fill while sliding Blackhawks looking for answers
The Pittsburgh Penguins open a three-game homestand on Thursday against the Chicago Blackhawks with hopes of extending their winning streak to five games. However, the home team will be missing a couple of key players.
Penguins winger Bryan Rust will serve the first game of a three-game suspension the NHL handed out on Tuesday. Rust, who ranks second on the team with 18 goals and third with 39 points, delivered a hit to Vancouver forward Brock Boeser's head in Sunday's 3-2 road win over the Canucks.
In addition, defenseman Jack St. Ivany left Sunday's game after sustaining a left-hand injury. The team announced Tuesday that the blueliner underwent surgery and is expected to miss up to eight weeks.
"Other guys are going to need to step up," coach Dan Muse said Tuesday.
One possible candidate to do that is rookie center Benjamin Kindel. The 2025 first-round draft pick, 18, scored twice in Sunday's win, ending a 19-game stretch without lighting the lamp.
Pittsburgh also may have avoided an even bigger loss coming out of Sunday's win. Evgeni Malkin, who missed 15 games with a shoulder injury, appeared to be in pain after the game. The 39-year-old, who scored a goal in Sunday's win, practiced Tuesday, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he did not participate in some contact drills.
Since his return three weeks ago, Malkin has been one of the Penguins' top contributors. The future hall of famer has 11 points (five goals, six assists) in those 10 games. Despite playing in just 36 games, Malkin's 40 points rank second only to longtime teammate and fellow star Sidney Crosby's 57, with his 27 assists third best on the team.
Chicago comes into Pittsburgh having lost three straight (0-1-2), with Tuesday's 4-3 shootout defeat at Minnesota particularly tough. The Blackhawks held a 3-0 lead less than six minutes into the second period.
The loss came despite Chicago outshooting Minnesota 32-23, with coach Jeff Blashill telling reporters his team should win that type of game nearly every time.
"I thought that's the best we've played in a while, to be honest with you," he said. "So, you got to go back and repeat. You got to do it in Pittsburgh. We can't feel sorry for ourselves. ... We got to learn from it and be ready to play."
It's been a long month for Blackhawks star center Connor Bedard. The top pick in the 2023 draft leads the league's third-youngest team (average age of 26.59 years, according to Elite Prospects) with 29 assists and 49 points. However, the 20-year-old has only five points (one goal, four assists) in nine January games, with one helper coming in Tuesday's loss.
Forward Ilya Mikheyev scored Tuesday. He now has five points (two goals, three assists) in his last five games.
Two of the league's top special teams units will be on display Thursday. Pittsburgh has the NHL's third-best power play, scoring on 27.4% (37 of 135) of its man-advantage chances, but Muse's team has come up dry on its last nine chances over the past five games.
The Blackhawks have the league's best penalty kill at 85.5% (24 of 166) as of Wednesday. They have kept the puck out of the net the last 12 times they have been down a skater, and opponents have just two goals in 33 power-play chances (6.1%) in 14 games this month.