Currently riding a 6-2-1 stretch in their last nine games, the Pittsburgh Penguins look to continue that momentum into their tilt with the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday.
And one Penguin will be facing his former team for the first time.
Forward Blake Lizotte – who was signed undrafted by the Kings – spent the first six seasons of his NHL career with Los Angeles before being signed to a two-year deal by Pittsburgh on the first day of free agency over the summer.
Tonight, Blake Lizotte is facing his former team, the only one he knew before signing with Pittsburgh, for the first time.
“Going up against them will be fun. It will be kind of weird, for sure, playing against some old roommates. I’ve kind of had it circled for a while.”
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) December 17, 2024
“Going up against them will be fun,” Lizotte said. “It will be kind of weird, for sure, playing against some old roommates. I’ve kind of had it circled for a while.”
And if the Kings know anything about the kind of season Lizotte has enjoyed so far with the Penguins, they should be very nervous that he had this date circled.
On the season, Lizotte has registered seven goals and 11 points in 16 games, and his current 29-goal, 46-point pace is set to obliterate his previous career high of 11 goals and 34 points with Los Angeles in 2022-23.
As for the Kings, they will face goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic, who has not started a game for the Penguins since the team’s 4-1 loss on Dec. 6 against the New York Rangers. They will also be facing a depleted Penguins’ blue line without top-four defenseman Marcus Pettersson, who was placed on injured reserve Tuesday with an upper-body injury.
Here is the entire Penguins’ lineup, which is the same aside from Pettersson. Matt Grzelcyk will take his place next to Erik Karlsson, and Ryan Shea will take Grzelcyk’s place next to Ryan Graves on the third pairing:
The Kings have won seven of their last eight games, so they are coming in hot against Pittsburgh tonight. A player to watch will be Adrian Kempe, who has 15 goals and 30 points on the season for Los Angeles.
Pittsburgh is 11-8-3 in its last 22 games against the Kings.
