Penguins to start Alex Nedeljkovic in net vs. Vancouver
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The Pittsburgh Penguins are expected to start Alex Nedeljkovic in goal Thursday evening against the visiting Vancouver Canucks at PPG Paints Arena.
Coach Mike Sullivan revealed his starting netminder following the Penguins’ morning skate.
Nedeljkovic has an 8-3-2 record, along with a 2.50 goals-against average and .922 save percentage through 14 games.
“We think (Nedeljkovic) is playing extremely well right now, and he’s deserving of playing,” Sullivan said.
Nedeljkovic was last in net Monday evening in Philadelphia, where he limited the Flyers to a lone goal, making 36 saves in the 4-1 Penguins’ victory.
Notes:
• Those who partook in Thursday’s pregame morning skate:
Forwards: Evgeni Malkin, Drew O’Connor, Radim Zohorna, Valtteri Puustinen
Defenseman: Chad Ruhwedel, Ryan Shea, P.O Joseph
Goalies: Tristan Jarry, Nedeljkovic
• The Canucks (27-11-3) enter Thursday night with the second-best record in the Western Conference and across the entire NHL, trailing only the Winnipeg Jets. Vancouver’s dominant first half is in large part due to the club’s potent offensive attack, with the Canucks ranking first in the NHL in total goals (160) and goals per game (3.90).
Away from Vancouver, offense has not been hard to come by for the Canucks, whose 84 goals on the road are also an NHL-most.
“They have a balanced attack, first and foremost,” Sullivan said. “They play with structure and that’s important for so many reasons … their power-play has been dynamic for them, they score a lot of goals (and) they have a quick-strike capability.”
• A plethora of former members of the Penguins organization now find gainful employment with the Canucks.
That includes former general manager Jim Rutherford, now president of hockey operations in Vancouver; general manager Patrick Allvin, a longtime front office official in Pittsburgh; and head coach Rick Tocchet, who played for the Penguins from 1992-94 and later served as one of Sullivan’s assistants, winning three Stanley Cup championships (1992, 2016, 2017) as a player and coach.
Former Penguins players active with the Canucks include goalie Casey DeSmith, defensemen Mark Friedman and Ian Cole and forwards Teddy Blueger and Sam Lafferty.
• Vancouver goalie Thatcher Demko is slated to start in net. Over 29 games played this year, he is 20-8-1 with a 2.54 GAA and .916 save percentage.