NBC’s coverage of the 2018-19 NHL season continues with Wednesday night’s matchup between the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Colorado Avalanche at 9:30 p.m. ET. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports App by clicking here.
Two teams tangling to keep the good times rolling?
Sounds like a recipe for an exciting game. And then you read the ingredients.
Malkin. Crosby. MacKinnon. Rantanen.
It all adds up to what should be an entertaining affair for two teams playing the second half of respective back to backs.
[WATCH LIVE – 9:30 P.M. ET – NBCSN]
The Colorado Avalanche put their five-game winning streak on the line against the Pittsburgh Penguins, who came from behind on Tuesday night three times against the Winnipeg Jets and squeaked out a 4-3 win.
The travel is brutal from Winnipeg to Denver, but the Penguins are 3-0-1 in their past four games and seem to finally be gelling as a team for the time being.
The Avs have been a scoring machine with 22 goals for in during their respective streak while taking care of business at the other end of the rink with just 11 goals against in that span. Colorado is also coming off a big 3-2 win against the might Nashville Predators on Tuesday.
Colorado’s defensive prowess will be put to the test if Pittsburgh’s recent trend of goal scoring continues. The Pens have four goals or more in five of their past six games. It helps that Sid is leading that charge with four goals and 11 points in his past seven games.
Colorado counters with fellow Cole Harbour native Nathan MacKinnon. Best buds off the ice (and on Tim Hortons commercials) Crosby will be out to shut down MacKinnon and his five-game point streak.
[Read more about this game in this extended preview]
What: Pittsburgh Penguins at Colorado Avalanche
Where: Pepsi Center
When: Wednesday, November 28th, 9:30 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN
Live stream: You can watch the Blues-Red Wings stream on NBC Sports’ live stream page and the NBC Sports app.
PROJECTED LINES
PENGUINS
Jake Guentzel -- Sidney Crosby -- Bryan Rust
Tanner Pearson -- Evgeni Malkin -- Phil Kessel
Zach Aston-Reese -- Derick Brassard -- Daniel Sprong
Garrett Wilson -- Riley Sheahan -- Derek Grant
Brian Dumoulin -- Kris Letang
Jack Johnson -- Jamie Oleksiak
Olli Maatta -- Juuso Riikola
Starting goalie: Tristan Jarry
AVALANCHE
Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen
Tyson Jost -- Alexander Kerfoot -- Colin Wilson
Matt Nieto -- Carl Soderberg -- Matt Calvert
Sven Andrighetto -- J.T. Compher - Gabriel Bourque
Samuel Girard -- Erik Johnson
Ian Cole -- Nikita Zadorov
Patrik Nemeth -- Mark Barberio
Starting goalie: Philipp Grubauer
MORE: Your 2018-19 NHL on NBC TV schedule
Scott Billeck is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @scottbilleck