Drew Agozzino

WATCH LIVE: Penguins host Bruins on NBC

By Sean LeahyJan 19, 2020, 11:45 AM EST

NBC’s coverage of the 2019-20 NHL season continues with Sunday’s matchup between the Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins. Coverage begins at 12:30 p.m. ET on NBC. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports app by clicking here.

Two of the NHL’s top teams meet for the second time in four days as the Bruins head to Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins. Sunday’s matchup will be the third and final game between these two this season. Boston won the first two meetings

After losing in Boston Thursday, the Penguins had a chance to get right back to it with a game against the Red Wings Friday night. Pittsburgh started slow, trailing 1-0 to the league’s worst team through two periods. But early in the third Bryan Rust scored his 20th of the season on the power play to even the score. And in overtime it was the captain Sidney Crosby who netted the game-winner on the power play to help Pittsburgh escape with a win.

Since returning from his 28-game absence, Crosby has 6 points (3G-3A) and has scored a goal in each of his three games.

With All-Star goalie Tuukka Rask (concussion) on injured reserve, the Bruins are now relying on Jaroslav Halak as their primary goalie. After starting the season on a tear, Halak has not been as sharp over the past six weeks.Halak has started (and won) both games against the Penguins this season. Over his career, he is 11-8-2 in 21 starts against Pittsburgh, with a 2.53 GAA and .921 SV%.

[COVERAGE BEGINS AT 12:30 P.M. ET ON NBC]

WHAT: Boston Bruins at Pittsburgh Penguins
WHERE: PPG Paints Arena
WHEN: Sunday, Jan. 19, 12:30 p.m. ET
TV: NBC
LIVE STREAM: You can watch the Bruins-Penguins stream on NBC Sports’ live stream page and the NBC Sports app.

PROJECTED LINEUPS

BRUINS
Brad Marchand – Patrice Bergeron – David Pastrnak
Jake DeBrusk – Charlie Coyle – Anders Bjork
Danton Heinen – Par Lindholm – Karson Kuhlman
Joakim Nordstrom – Sean Kuraly – Chris Wagner

Zdeno Chara – Charlie McAvoy
Torey Krug – Brandon Carlo
John Moore – Matt Grzelcyk

Starting goalie: Jaroslav Halak

PENGUINS
Jared McCann – Sidney Crosby – Dominik Simon
Dominik Kahun – Evgeni Malkin – Bryan Rust
Alex Galchenyuk – Andrew Agozzino – Patric Hornqvist
Zach Aston-Reese – Teddy Blueger – Brandon Tanev

Jack Johnson – Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson – John Marino
Jusso Riikola – Chad Ruhwedel

Starting goalie: Matt Murray

Mike Emrick, Eddie Olczyk and Brian Boucher will have the call of the Bruins-Penguins matchup on NBC from PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Penguins lose Malkin, Bjugstad to ‘long-term’ injuries

Getty

By Adam GretzOct 7, 2019, 1:02 PM EDT

3 Comments

Just two games into the season and the injury bug has already taken a significant bite out of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Coach Mike Sullivan announced on Monday that centers Evgeni Malkin and Nick Bjugstad will both be sidelined with lower-body injuries that are expected to keep them out of the lineup “long-term.”

Sullivan said that Malkin’s injury will likely sideline him longer than Bjugstad’s.

TSN’s Darren Dreger reported on Monday that Malkin’s injury is a “soft tissue” injury and that he is expected to be sidelined for around a month.

Both players exited the Penguins’ 7-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday night.

Malkin was injured when he lost his balance through the neutral zone and fell awkwardly into the boards. He immediately went to the locker room and did not return. Here is a look at the play.

Big things were expected for Malkin this season as he was looking to rebound from a down 2018-19 season. He came into camp motivated and with a chip on his shoulder and was looking to show he is still one of the league’s top players. He had been playing on a newly formed second line alongside offseason additions Alex Galchenyuk and Brandon Tanev that had made a strong first impression.

Both injuries are pretty big losses in the short-term for a Penguins team that is already short on depth and was going to need its star players — and especially Malkin — to play big roles this season. They still have Sidney Crosby to drive the top line, and as long as Matt Murray can keep playing the way he has in net there is still every reason to believe they can compete. It just makes things a lot tougher for them until their center depth returns.

With Malkin and Bjugstad sidelined Jared McCann will likely take over as the team’s second line center, with Teddy Blueger presumably moving to third line duty.

The team announced on Monday it has recalled Sam Lafferty and Andrew Agozzino from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

MORE:
• Your 2019-20 NHL on NBC TV schedule

—

Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.

WATCH LIVE: Blackhawks face Avalanche on NBCSN

Getty Images

By James O'BrienMar 24, 2019, 7:29 PM EDT

NBCSN’s coverage of the 2018-19 NHL season continues with Sunday night’s matchup between the Colorado Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks. Coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports app by clicking here.

The Avalanche head into Sunday in a solid position, as they hold a one-point lead and game in hand on the closest teams behind them vying for the West’s second wild-card spot. That rosy outlook can change in a big way if the Avs can’t beat the Blackhawks, though.

Looking at The Push for the Playoffs, things don’t look very good — at all — for Chicago, but this proud team likely isn’t waving the white flag on the 2018-19 season just yet. Beating the Avalanche (particularly in regulation) would certainly improve their odds of making an unlikely run, too.

With the stakes in mind – not to mention the star power in Nathan MacKinnon, Patrick Kane, and Jonathan Toews – this should be a fun one at the United Center.

[WATCH LIVE – COVERAGE BEGINS AT 7 P.M. ET – NBCSN]

What: Colorado Avalanche at Chicago Blackhawks
Where: United Center
When: Sunday, March 24, 8 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSN
Live stream: You can watch the Avs-Blackhawks stream on NBC Sports’ live stream page and the NBC Sports app.

PROJECTED LINES

AVALANCHE

Derick Brassard — Nathan MacKinnon — J.T. Compher

Colin Wilson — Carl Soderberg — Andrew Agozzino

Alexander Kerfoot — Tyson Jost — Matt Calvert

Gabriel Bourque — Sven Andrighetto

Samuel Girard — Erik Johnson

Ian Cole — Tyson Barrie

Nikita Zadorov — Patrik Nemeth

Ryan Graves

Starting goalie: Philipp Grubauer

[More: check out this preview for Sunday’s game.]

BLACKHAWKS

Dylan Sikura — Jonathan Toews — Patrick Kane

Alex DeBrincat — Dylan Strome — Brendan Perlini

Brandon Saad — Artem Anisimov — Dominik Kahun

Chris Kunitz — David Kampf — Marcus Kruger

Duncan Keith — Brent Seabrook

Carl Dahlstrom — Erik Gustafsson

Gustav Forsling — Connor Murphy

Starting goalie: Corey Crawford

Gord Miller (play-by-play) and Joe Micheletti (‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst) will have the call from United Center in Chicago, Ill. Pre-game coverage starts at 7 p.m. ET with NHL Live, hosted by Kathryn Tappen alongside Keith Jones and Jeremy Roenick.

—

James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.