Pittsburgh shows up at 5-6-2 and still can't string wins together. The Penguins shut out Florida 4-0 and beat Nashville 3-2 on back-to-back home dates, then dropped a 4-3 overtime game to Utah on Thursday. That was the second 1-goal loss to the Mammoth this season. They also got a reminder that this team can hang around: down 2-0 after 1, the Penguins scored twice in the 3rd period, the second one a Rickard Rakell shorthanded goal, to force OT.
The big Penguins news against Utah was Ben Kindel. The rookie center was back 9 days after losing consciousness on the team plane out of Salt Lake City, a vasovagal syncope episode, and he scored in his return, set up by Evgeni Malkin and Nikita Chinakhov. Malkin missed the Nashville game with an illness and came into this week tied for the team lead with 6 goals. With Kindel and Malkin both back, the second line looks like a real line again, and Pittsburgh needs that, because the top line is missing a piece.
That missing piece is Bryan Rust. He left the earlier Utah loss in the 2nd period with a lower-body injury after picking up 2 assists on the right side of Sidney Crosby and Rakell, and Dan Muse says he'll be re-evaluated in 6 weeks. Add Elmer Soderblom on IR, Justin Brazeau out, and 2 defensemen, Trevor van Riemsdyk and Ryan Graves, on IR as well, and Pittsburgh is short at both forward and defense.
Montreal has its own list. Suzuki and Matheson we covered. Ivan Demidov has been on IR since early October, and Sam Montembeault is on IR too, so the Canadiens are well into their goalie depth. Both teams will dress lineups that look nothing like what they planned in September. The question for Saturday at 7:00 PM ET is simple: can Montreal's stingy, shorthanded group keep it going at home after a trip to Dallas, or does a Pittsburgh team with its second line restored finally get the 2 results in a row it hasn't managed in a while.