Overview
- Pittsburgh enters Saint Paul at 5-0-2 in its last seven, opening game two of a four-game trip after a 3-2 shootout loss to Philadelphia.
- Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin continue to drive scoring, with Malkin near the league lead in points and Crosby above his career points-per-game pace.
- Goaltenders Arturs Silovs and Tristan Jarry have split starts effectively, posting a 2.44 GAA with a .919 save percentage and a 2.62 GAA with a .916 save percentage, respectively.
- Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is 7-0-0 with Sergei Murashov earning AHL Player of the Week, yet calls for a promotion are tempered as NHL goaltending has steadied.
- League notes include Pittsburgh native Logan Cooley signing an eight-year, $10 million AAV deal with Utah and NHL.com releasing initial Olympic roster projections at the 100-day mark.