TV: ROOT (HD), SNET-W
Season Series: These teams are meeting for the only time this season. Their only meeting in 2010-11 came in Pittsburgh on March 13, when Jordan Staal had a goal and an assist in a 5-1 victory at the Consol Energy Center.
Team Scope:
Penguins: The Pens are off to flying start as they improved to 2-0-0 with Saturday night's 5-3 win at Calgary. Matt Niskanen and Jordan Staal each had a goal and an assist for Pittsburgh, while Marc-Andre Fleury made 17 saves.
The victory came just 48 hours after the Pens escaped Vancouver with a 4-3 shootout win.
"I thought they came out pretty hard and we wanted to match their intensity in the second period, and I thought we did it well," forward Tyler Kennedy said as Pittsburgh scored four times in the middle period. "It's behind us now. We've got to focus on tomorrow and make sure we play well tomorrow."
Oilers: Who will start in goal for Edmonton on Sunday night? Will it be veteran Nikolai Khabibulin or 25-year-old Devan Dubnyk? Oilers coach Tom Renney knows, but he's not telling anybody.
"Yeah," Renney responded when asked about whether or not the starter has been named.
Each goaltender went 2-0-0 in the preseason. Dubnyk had a 1.60 goals-against average and .947 save-percentage, while Khabibulin, 38, notched a 2.38 GAA and .872 save-percentage.
Who's Hot: Staal is tied for the team lead with 3 points, along with defenseman Kris Letang (3 assists). Five players have 2 points -- Niskanen, James Neal, Evgeni Malkin, Pascal Dupuis and Matt Cooke.
Injury Report: Crosby remains on IR with post-concussion complications, though he is with the team and practicing. Brooks Orpik (lower body) did not play Saturday night and is questionable for Sunday. Forward Dustin Jeffrey is recovering from a torn ACL. … Oilers forward Sam Gagner (ankle) is questionable, along with defensemen Ryan Whitney (ankle) and Ladislav Smid (shoulder).
Stat Pack: Pittsburgh has managed to win its first two games despite struggling in the faceoff circle. After winning only 32 of 78 draws Thursday night at Vancouver, the Pens slightly improved Saturday with 36 wins in 75 tries.
Puck Drop: "You can only practice so much – eventually you're doing the same things. I think everybody's pretty anxious to get a game going and get the season going. We're really excited in here." -- Oilers defenseman Cam Barker
picks:
Penguins -0.5 and -1 +105
o5.5 +105
Season Series: These teams are meeting for the only time this season. Their only meeting in 2010-11 came in Pittsburgh on March 13, when Jordan Staal had a goal and an assist in a 5-1 victory at the Consol Energy Center.
Team Scope:
Penguins: The Pens are off to flying start as they improved to 2-0-0 with Saturday night's 5-3 win at Calgary. Matt Niskanen and Jordan Staal each had a goal and an assist for Pittsburgh, while Marc-Andre Fleury made 17 saves.
The victory came just 48 hours after the Pens escaped Vancouver with a 4-3 shootout win.
"I thought they came out pretty hard and we wanted to match their intensity in the second period, and I thought we did it well," forward Tyler Kennedy said as Pittsburgh scored four times in the middle period. "It's behind us now. We've got to focus on tomorrow and make sure we play well tomorrow."
Oilers: Who will start in goal for Edmonton on Sunday night? Will it be veteran Nikolai Khabibulin or 25-year-old Devan Dubnyk? Oilers coach Tom Renney knows, but he's not telling anybody.
"Yeah," Renney responded when asked about whether or not the starter has been named.
Each goaltender went 2-0-0 in the preseason. Dubnyk had a 1.60 goals-against average and .947 save-percentage, while Khabibulin, 38, notched a 2.38 GAA and .872 save-percentage.
Who's Hot: Staal is tied for the team lead with 3 points, along with defenseman Kris Letang (3 assists). Five players have 2 points -- Niskanen, James Neal, Evgeni Malkin, Pascal Dupuis and Matt Cooke.
Injury Report: Crosby remains on IR with post-concussion complications, though he is with the team and practicing. Brooks Orpik (lower body) did not play Saturday night and is questionable for Sunday. Forward Dustin Jeffrey is recovering from a torn ACL. … Oilers forward Sam Gagner (ankle) is questionable, along with defensemen Ryan Whitney (ankle) and Ladislav Smid (shoulder).
Stat Pack: Pittsburgh has managed to win its first two games despite struggling in the faceoff circle. After winning only 32 of 78 draws Thursday night at Vancouver, the Pens slightly improved Saturday with 36 wins in 75 tries.
Puck Drop: "You can only practice so much – eventually you're doing the same things. I think everybody's pretty anxious to get a game going and get the season going. We're really excited in here." -- Oilers defenseman Cam Barker
picks:
Penguins -0.5 and -1 +105
o5.5 +105
Gotta keep that stick down Dubnyk