Penguins Hope for a Win in their Home-and-Home Series Against the Avalanche

The Pittsburgh Penguins suffered a defeat at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche in the opening game of their home-and-home series on Saturday. Now, the two teams face one another once again on Tuesday, with the Penguins looking to take revenge with a win at home.

The Colorado Avalanche defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 at Ball Arena on Saturday, with Devon Toews scoring the game-winning goal with 4:26 remaining in the third period.

At 15:07 of the third period, Mike Matheson tied the game 2-2 for the Penguins when he fired past Darcy Kuemper from the bottom of the right face-off circle as the goalie dove. After Nathan MacKinnon’s shot caromed out in front of the end boards, Toews scored the game-winner 27 seconds later at 15:34.

For Tuesday’s game, the Penguins will be in front of a home crowd and will be hoping this gives them the advantage. After their win on Saturday, Avalanche are -160 favorites while the Penguins have moneyline odds of +130 at Betway.

On the Loss to the Avalanche

The Avalanche are first in the Western Conference and have a considerable points advantage over second place after a strong season. They’re a tough opponent on the best of days, but the Penguins were also affected by the loss to injury of Jason Zucker. Forward Jason Zucker, one of the most experienced players on the Penguins’ roster, had just comeback from injury before getting knocked against the boards in their win over the Minnesota Wild on Thursday.

“I thought it was just a really good hockey game,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “It was a well-played game on both sides. We had a lot of looks. We had a fair amount of chances; we would normally, I think, convert on some of those. But they played extremely well also. It was a real competitive hockey game. I just thought it was a real good game on both sides.”

Predictions for the Next Game

The Avalanche have been susceptible to a lot lately, but they’ve been able to win games by grinding it out late in games. Nazem Kadri, Colorado’s leading goal scorer, was injured on Thursday against the Sharks and therefore missed the opening game against Pittsburgh. Colorado were also without their captain, although it didn’t seem to affect them much as they still played well.

If Kadri isn’t available for this game, then the Penguins have a much better chance of winning. In a boost to their chances, Jason Zucker’s injury may not be as severe as first feared. The exact details of his injury still aren’t known, but the Penguins are optimistic that he could be back soon. The Penguins outshot the Avalanche 40-38 in a thrilling encounter, and most predict that the next game will be more of the same. This time, the Penguins should have a slight edge, although they’re considered the underdogs by most sportsbooks.

“We generated some good chances, really quality chances, and unfortunately, not enough went in,” Crosby said in an interview after the first game. “They got a bounce and buried it. We know that they’re a dangerous team. They don’t need much, and that was basically the difference today.”

Pittsburgh have a real opportunity to beat Colorado, but they’ll need to put their chances away. Sometimes this just comes down to luck, and hopefully, the home advantage will also make things easier for the Penguins. Hopefully, Zucker will be back in the side before too long, and the team will be able to return to full strength before the postseason. For the time being, bring on the Avalanche.