The roster isn't helping. Bryan Rust is set to be re-evaluated in 6 weeks with a lower-body injury, Elmer Soderblom is week-to-week, and the blue line is without Ryan Graves and Trevor van Riemsdyk. The good news is up front: Evgeni Malkin, who missed the Vegas game with a lower-body injury, is in Pittsburgh's projected lines for puck drop at 6:00 PM PT, on the right side of Egor Chinakhov and Ben Kindel. Sidney Crosby centers Tommy Novak and Rickard Rakell on the top line. Until warmups confirm it, treat Malkin as a projection rather than a lock.
Los Angeles has its own injury list, and it keeps getting shorter. Adrian Kempe missed the 3-2 loss to Buffalo, came back day-to-day against San Jose and scored a hat trick in the 7-2 win. Kevin Fiala hasn't played this season after breaking his leg at the 2026 Winter Olympics and having a second procedure over the summer. He's been practicing in full contact, and the Kings' injury report now lists him as expected back for this game. Mats Zuccarello is still on IR, with a return targeted for Tuesday, November 10.
Boston made it look simple: 3 goals in the 1st period, and Pittsburgh never got back within 1 to set up the kind of tight finish it's been losing all month. The Bruins outshot the Penguins 24-18, a thin offensive night from a team that now has to play on the road after a cross-country flight. The Kings jumped San Jose the same way, with 3 in the 1st. If Los Angeles gets an early lead again, Pittsburgh hasn't shown it can come back from a hole like that.
One more thing to watch in LA: Brandt Clarke left practice partway through on November 2, and the Kings didn't give details right away. He's the defenseman they count on to move the puck out of their own end, so if he's limited, Pittsburgh's forecheck has more to work with. Both lineups have open questions, and the Penguins have more of them, with a 5-9-2 record that says the fixes aren't coming soon.
