The Pittsburgh Penguins will come out of the holiday break on Sunday night and face Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks on the road. But the Blackhawks will be playing on Saturday night against the Dallas Stars before they come back home and face the Penguins.
The Penguins need to take advantage of being the more rested team and not having to play a back-to-back out of the holiday break. Typically, the Penguins like to make the other teams goalie look like a god and like to make the other team look good when they are tired and on a back-to-back.
The Penguins have had plenty of rest since their last game was against the Toronto Maple Leafs on the road on December 23rd. They lost their most recent game against the Maple Leafs but did not look that bad overall.
But with the Blackhawks having to go on the road against one of the league's best teams and having to come back home and face Sidney Crosby and a rested Penguins team, is a recipe for disaster. The Penguins have to make sure that they are ready to play.
They need to make sure they are forechecking, they need to make sure they are playing solid defense, they need to make sure they are winning puck battles. And the fact that Connor Bedard is lethal and has such a nice shot.
The Penguins are just notorious for not being ready to play against teams that had less rest than them. And if the Blackhawks are going to start young goaltender Spencer Knight in goal against the Stars, that should mean that they will face their backup goalie on Sunday.
And the fact that the Penguins are most likely getting Blake Lizotte back on Sunday against the Blackhawks, is a big factor. Lizotte is one of the most versatile Penguins that can do it all and is a player that they can constantly lean on.
Realistically, the Penguins should win this game and head home for two games against the Carolina Hurricanes and Detroit Red Wings. They just need to make sure that they are ready from puck drop and play a full 60 minutes. Head coach Dan Muse needs to see a lot more from his team come Sunday's matchup. They need to play better and get what should be an easy win.