Pittsburgh Penguins
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Game Preview: Edmonton Oilers @ Pittsburgh Penguins 12/16/25
Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/general/70331/game-preview-edmonton-oilers-pittsburgh-penguins-12-16-25
Who: Edmonton Oilers (15-12-6, 36 points, 4th place Pacific Division) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (14-8-9, 37 points, 5th place Metropolitan Division)
When: 7:30 p.m. ET
How to Watch: TNT, HBO Max, truTV
Pens’ Path Ahead: Tonight marks the final night of the Penguins’ homestand. Now the Pens will look to regroup when they head up to the Great White North for games against the Ottawa Senators (Thursday) and Montreal Canadiens (Saturday).
Opponent Track: The Oilers have gotten points in five of their last six games, although they’re most recently coming off to a 4-1 loss to the Canadiens in Montreal.
Season Series: The Penguins won’t see the Oilers again until Jan. 22, when the team heads to Edmonton as part of a four-game West Coast swing.
Hidden Stat: The Penguins aren’t the only team that has struggled with blowing leads this season. The Oilers have gone into 15 third periods with a lead and suffered four overtime losses in that stretch.
Getting to know the Oilers
Projected lines
FORWARDS
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Connor McDavid – Zach Hyman
Vasily Podkolzin – Leon Draisaitl – Matthew Savoie
Trent Frederic – Adam Henrique – Mattias Janmark
Andrew Mangiapane – Curtis Lazar – Max Jones
DEFENSEMEN
Mattias Ekholm – Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse – Alec Regula
Spencer Stastney – Ty Emberson
Goalies: Tristan Jarry, Calvin Pickard
Potential scratches: Riley Stillman, David Tomasek
Injured Reserve: Jake Walman, Kasperi Kapanen, Connor Clattenburg, Jack Roslovic
- The Oilers have alternated their last two games between former Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry, who backstopped Edmonton to a 6-3 win in his first start for his new team, and incumbent starter Calvin Pickard, in front of whom the Oilers lost 4-1 on Sunday to the Canadiens.
Tristan Jarry rockin' his new threads
: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+
https://t.co/4KjbdjVctF pic.twitter.com/w9mQKBIE7q
— NHL (@NHL) December 14, 2025
- There’s a chance both Jarry and recent Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner could get the nod tonight, just days after they were traded from their former teams.
- When asked Monday what reception he thought he would get in his return to Pittsburgh, Jarry answered: “You never know. I hope in a good way. I put my heart and soul into this team, and I hope they understand that. You never want to go into a game thinking you’re gonna lose. You wanna win every single game that you step foot on the ice. And I think that’s all I want to do, is win in Pittsburgh. And I hope I was perceived that way.”
Season stats
via hockeydb
- This is a battle of two of the league’s top power plays. The Penguins and Oilers are two of just three teams converting on more than 30 percent of man-advantage opportunities so far this season.
- The Oilers aren’t doing as well stifling goals against, even at even strength or on the penalty kill. Edmonton is heading into this week with a 79.1 PK% (20th in the NHL) and 3.39 team GAA (26th).
- It’s true that those numbers have something to do with Skinner’s 0.891 save percentage in his first 23 appearances, but the Oilers defense has also been to blame especially early in the season. This team ranks 21st in the NHL in high-danger shots against, per MoneyPuck.
- Edmonton will now hope changing up the goaltending situation will help the defensive corps regain some confidence and lower that rate down the stretch. That puts a significant amount of pressure on Jarry, especially after Connor McDavid recently signed a two-year extension below market value in the hopes this team will win a Stanley Cup in 2026.
- Speaking of McDavid: He was named the First Star of the Week last week after putting up 10 points (four goals, six assists) in the Oilers’ last three games. He leads the league in assists (34) and ranks second in points (52) through 33 games. He’s also officially the fastest player in the NHL this season, according to both NHL Edge stats and the eye test below:
CONNOR MCDAVID WASTES NO TIME
— NHL (@NHL) December 14, 2025
- Zach Hyman, who returned in November after missing the beginning of the season due to his recover from a broken wrist, has provided a boost alongside McDavid on the top line. He heads into the matchup on a three-game goalscoring streak.
- The Oilers’ other star center could hit a milestone today as Leon Draisaitl enters the game one point short of 1,000. Draisaitl would be the 103rd NHL player and first player born in Germany to reach the milestone should he get on the scoreboard in Pittsburgh.
And now for the Pens
Projected lines
FORWARDS
Rickard Rakell – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust
Rutger McGroarty – Ben Kindel – Justin Brazeau
Ville Koivunen – Tommy Novak – Anthony Mantha
Connor Dewar – Kevin Hayes – Noel Acciari
DEFENSEMEN
Parker Wotherspoon / Erik Karlsson
Ryan Shea / Kris Letang
Brett Kulak or Ryan Graves (?) / Connor Clifton
Goalies: Stuart Skinner, Arturs Silovs
Potential Scratches: Danton Heinen, Jack St. Ivany
IR: Blake Lizotte, Evgeni Malkin, Filip Hallander, Caleb Jones
- Oilers pickups Stuart Skinner and Brett Kulak got added to the active roster Monday. Sergei Mursahov meanwhile got re-assigned to the AHL, so the Pens will be rolling into the week with Skinner and Silovs as the goaltending options.
- Brett Kulak is joining the Pens on the left side of the defense, so Graves could be a potential draft should the Pens slot him in to the lineup tonight.
- Sidney Crosby is just two points from matching Mario Lemieux’s franchise-record career total of 1,723 points.
- The Penguins are heading into tonight on a five-game losing streak (it’s featured some of the worst blown leads in the entire NHL this season, but at least they’ve picked up four points in the 0-1-4 stretch without Evgeni Malkin on the second line and Blake Lizotte when they’re down a man). This marks the first time this team has dropped five straight decisions since October 2024.
Source: https://www.pensburgh.com/general/70331/game-preview-edmonton-oilers-pittsburgh-penguins-12-16-25