Tonight at 7:00 p.m. ET, the Edmonton Oilers (1-4-1) visit the Pittsburgh Penguins (4-1-0) live from the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh. The game can be live streamed here. Edmonton fans can hear all the action on CHED-AM 630 , while Pittsburgh fans can do the same on WXDX-FM 105.9.
In the first of two meetings between these teams this season, Edmonton enters the contest struggling after allowing a league-high 29 goals thus far on the year, while the surging Penguins are sure to be a test having netted an average of four goals per game during their red-hot start to the year.
Sidney Crosby is coming off of a game where he netted his eighth career hat trick against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Pittsburgh's 5-4 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning Saturday. Crosby is tied for the league lead with nine points off of five goals and four assists through five games this season.
Despite the success, it was still a tough victory for Crosby and the Penguins as goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury--who has been brilliant all season--stopped just 14 of 18 shots Saturday against Tampa and the Pens were just barely able to squeak out the win.
"It wasn't our best," defenseman Matt Niskanen told The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "We had to battle through some sloppy play. ... But we did a good job of battling back all night."
Fleury has recorded a 4-0-0 record this season and has allowed seven goals through the four games while posting a dazzling 1.75 GAA and a .930 save percentage.
Edmonton's goaltenders have struggled thus far this season as Jason LaBarbera started Monday and only was able to stop 16 of 20 shots in a 4-2 defeat to the Washington Capitals. LaBarbera has a 3.27 GAA and a .860 save percentage through three games while Devan Dubnyk has amounted an 0-3-1 record with a 5.43 GAA and a .829 save percentage.
While Edmonton has remained stagnant, veteran Boyd Gordon leads the team with four goals and has an assist for five points. 2012 first-round pick Nail Yakupov has been a healthy scratch the last two games after not tallying a single point through his first four, and will hope for a chance to get back into the lineup.
The team knows it has been struggling but has to get through the hard times and play better.
"You can't carry baggage around," captain Andrew Ference told NHL.com. "It's a lot of adversity. It's easy to be a good teammate and do the right things when you're winning and have a good attitude, but it's a real test when things aren't going your way."
The Penguins will look to stay hot as the Oilers attempt to find their winning ways when these teams hit the ice tonight in Pittsburgh.
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