NHL Game of the Week: Avalanche vs. Penguins

It’s now week three of the NHL regular season and fans are beginning to get a better sense of what the future has in store for their favorite teams.

One of this week’s most anticipated matchups will take place Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena where the Colorado Avalanche have made the road trip to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Starting with an analysis of the home team, the Penguins have had a much slower start to their season than fans originally hoped for considering the promising changes made to their roster.

The organization’s new president of operations and acting general manager Kyle Dubas used the offseason to get ahold of some exciting new talent.

Former New Jersey Devils defenseman Ryan Graves seemed to be a promising way to bring fresh legs to the defensive line. Recent Stanley Cup champion Reilly Smith was brought on to be a powerful presence on the wing, and, in the trade that caused the most buzz, the team acquired Swedish Defenseman Erik Karlsson from the San Jose Sharks, a move that fans were certain would solve the issue of the Penguins’ slow and unproductive power play.

Despite these big moves, Pittsburgh has already fallen back into old habits. In their season opener, they fell to the Chicago Blackhawks, a team that finished dead last in the Central Division with a record of 26-49-7.

Granted, the Blackhawks did acquire top-ranked prospect Connor Bedard with their first overall draft pick, however, the addition of a talented rookie was not the deciding factor in their victory. In reality, the Penguins played what head coach Mike Sullivan described as “a loose game,” appearing disorganized and chaotic on the ice.

Since then, this Pittsburgh team has had its moments. Their 4-0 victory over the Washington Capitals showed a promising glimpse of what their offense is capable of. More recently, however, they are back on a losing streak.

The Penguins tanked their third game in a row on Tuesday night with a 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars. When speaking about the game, Sullivan claimed there are a lot of areas where they need to improve in order to set themselves up for success. Only time will tell whether they’ll be able to clean up their second and third-period game.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Avalanche have stormed through the season's opening weeks despite a rather challenging schedule, going up 6-0 and taking up residence at the top of the Central Division.

Their 7-4 victory against the Islanders on Tuesday night brought them to 15 straight wins in regular season games on the road, a new NHL record. They are one of just three teams who remain undefeated, the other two being the Boston Bruins and the Vegas Golden Knights.

After cruising their way to the 2022 Stanley Cup victory, the Avalanche were taken out of the 2023 playoffs in the first round by the Seattle Kraken. Considering their outstanding start to this season, they will no doubt be seeking redemption in 2024.

Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon have been two key pieces of Colorado’s offense so far this season, putting up nine goals combined. The Penguins' defense will need to stay on their toes to be prepared for Colorado’s swift attack.

These two teams will face off on the Penguins’ home turf Thursday night at 7 p.m.

Anna Licastro is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, email arl5942@psu.edu.