Blues a tough test as Penguins look to extend 'lengthy' win streak to 9
When is an NHL eight-game win streak longer than an eight-game win streak? Probably when it lasts a full month.
The Penguins’ lengthy eight-game unbeaten jaunt began back on Dec. 4 in Vancouver. So between the holiday break and a covid pause, you’ve got to go back to before you put up the Christmas decorations to remember when it started.
Well, before I put up my Christmas decorations anyway. Some of you are a bit more ambitious than me in that regard, I’m sure. Now, mine will just stay up until Super Bowl Sunday before I get around to taking them down.
With the expanded NFL schedule, when is Super Bowl Sunday now, by the way? Mid-March-ish?
Despite how long the Penguins’ hot spell has lasted, they haven’t skated against a lot of top-notch opponents in that time. Six of the eight teams the Penguins have faced during their streak are currently out of a playoff position.
The two exceptions were solid wins against the Washington Capitals (4-2, on Dec. 10) and Anaheim Ducks (1-0, on Dec. 11).
Now the Pens have to deal with the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday night. And they are coming in playing some pretty decent hockey themselves.
The Blues are fresh off a 6-4 victory in the Winter Classic against the Minnesota Wild. Maybe that’ll be an advantage for the Penguins in the sense that I’m not entirely sure St. Louis’ team has had proper time to thaw out. After all, that game was played in temperatures that dropped down to 5.7 degrees below zero.
Having won seven of their last 10 games, the Blues are one point behind the Nashville Predators in the Central. A few things are powering their season so far.
The first of which is special teams. The Blues’ power play is clicking at a 29.5% success rate — that’s third-best in hockey behind only the Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs. And their 83.9% penalty kill is the fifth-best in the league.
Second, St. Louis is one of the best home teams in hockey at 12-3-2. Only the Florida Panthers (18) and Maple Leafs (13) have more home wins than St. Louis. Fortunately for the Penguins, Wednesday night’s game is at PPG Paints Arena.
A third element is balance. The Blues are fifth in the NHL in goals per game (3.45) and 10th-best in goals allowed per game (2.70).
Then there is the season being spun by Vladimir Tarasenko. Despite an offseason of conjecture that he may be traded as a result of a disagreement with the organization over how his shoulder surgeries were handled, the 30-year-old forward is leading the team with 33 points in 33 games. That total is good enough to tie him for 17th in the NHL. His 14 goals are good for 20th.
Brian Metzer of the Penguins Radio Network joins me for this week’s “Breakfast With Benz” hockey podcast. He tells us how the Penguins match up with St. Louis, how the Penguins have managed to extend this winning streak for as long as they have, and what might happen when Evgeni Malkin returns to the ice.
Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.
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