The Pittsburgh Penguins and Vancouver Canucks are playing live on the NHL schedule on Thursday night and the matchup from the CONSOL Energy Center starts at 7 pm ET as two of the best teams in the league face off as Sidney Crosby and the Sedin twins battle and this comes with both teams reaching 17 wins already this year.
The Canucks have been playing very well this year with new goalie Ryan Miller in net and they come in after a win against the Washington Capitals. The team has played very well overall and now comes into the game at first place in the Pacific division and the Canucks play against the Maple Leafs next in Toronto. The team has 35 points on the season and they come in ranked fourth in the league in scoring at 3.1 goals per game. The team is also ranked in the top 10 in penalty kill percentage and they will need to be sharp against the Pens.
The Penguins come into the game after a win against the Devils and they are first in the Metro division. The team has 36 points and they will next host the Ottawa Senators on the schedule. The Penguins have been very impressive to start the season and they are ranked in the top 10 across the board to start things off. The team is ranked in the top three on offense with over three goals per game on average and they also are sixth in goals against. The special teams has been stellar and they are first in power play percentage and sixth in penalty kill percentage this year.
Daniel Sedin is leading the team in scoring in points and his brother is tops in assists, while the Penguins have Crosby tops in points and goals. Evgeni Malkin is leading in goals and the Penguins have been getting some strong play from their stars. The two teams are going in for a tight battle and the two goalies are playing very well on top of that. Marc-Andre Fleury is making his extension look good and he comes in after putting up another shutout and he is putting up his best GAA numbers.
The Penguins come in after winning the last two games and they have now won four of the last five and in the past two games the team has allowed just two goals. Coming up the team has some tough games, as they will play against the Canucks, Senators and NY Rangers. The two teams are favorites their respective conferences and there is a chance this could be a Stanley Cup preview with how they have been playing.
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