Pittsburgh Penguins News

The Penguins return to action for the first time since playing in Sweden last weekend, and will turn to Silovs to tend the twine on Friday against the Minnesota Wild. Silovs played well in his most recent outing, saving 28 of 30 shots (.933 SV%), but did not receive ample goal support in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Nashville Predators. The 24-year-old Latvian goalie has been impressive in his first season with the Penguins, posting a 2.44 GAA and .918 SV% in 10 games (4-2-4). The Penguins enter Friday's contest as -120 home favorites against a Wild team with points in six straight games (5-0-1).

The Penguins return to action for the first time since playing in Sweden last weekend, and will turn to Silovs to tend the twine on Friday against the Minnesota Wild. Silovs played well in his most recent outing, saving 28 of 30 shots (.933 SV%), but did not receive ample goal support in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Nashville Predators. The 24-year-old Latvian goalie has been impressive in his first season with the Penguins, posting a 2.44 GAA and .918 SV% in 10 games (4-2-4). The Penguins enter Friday's contest as -120 home favorites against a Wild team with points in six straight games (5-0-1).

van Riemsdyk will be the odd-man out as Capitals opt to get some fresh legs in the lineup for the tail-end of their back-to-back. Dylan McIlrath will dress in his place.

Zach Aston-Reese will be a healthy scratch on Thursday against the Toronto Maple Leafs, allowing Chinakhov to re-enter the lineup. The 24-year-old Chinakhov has four points (2G / 2A) in 14 games and has been held off the scoresheet in eight straight.

Kuzmenko's ice time has dropped below eight minutes in his last two games, as he has been playing primarily on the fourth line, leading to him being a healthy scratch in the team's last three games (2-1-0). The 29-year-old Kuzmenko has seven points (3G / 4A) in 17 games this season, but has only one point (1G / 0A) in his last eight games.

Carlile will draw in and skate alongside Steven Santini on the third pair, who is also making his season debut. Maxwell Crozier and Erik Cernak (lower-body) will draw out of the Lightning lineup.

Luca Del Bel Belluz will return to the Blue Jackets lineup on Tuesday, sending Chinakhov to the press box as a healthy scratch. The 24-year-old Chinakhov has four points (2G / 2A) in 14 games and has been held off the scoresheet in eight straight.

Koivunen has a whopping 11 points (4G / 7A) in six AHL games, but only one point (0G / 1A) in seven games at the NHL level. He remains out week-to-week, resulting Pittsburgh recalled Samuel Poulin from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).

Carlile is an undrafted 25-year-old defenseman that has spent most of the previous five seasons in the AHL. He has 10 points (2G / 8A) in 15 games with the Syracuse Crunch (AHL) this season.

With Tristan Jarry (lower body) sidelined week-to-week, Silovs has become the de facto starting netminder for Pittsburgh and will tend the twine on Friday in Sweden against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The 24-year-old Silovs was excellent in his most recent game, but did not receive ample goal support, saving 23 of 24 shots (.958 SV%) in a 2-1 shootout loss to the New Jersey Devils. He has a 2.49 GAA and .916 SV% in nine games this season (4-2-3). The Penguins enter Friday's overseas matchup as -119 favorites against a Predators team on a three-game losing skid.

Girard has not played since suffering an upper-body injury in Colorado's second game of the season, but will make his return to the lineup on Thursday against the Buffalo Sabres. The 27-year-old Girard has seen a decreased role in recent seasons, but still tallied 24 points (3G / 21A) in 73 games last season.

Kuzmenko's ice time has dropped below eight minutes in his last two games, as he has been playing primarily on the fourth line, and he will be a healthy scratch on Thursday against the Maple Leafs. The 29-year-old Kuzmenko has seven points (3G / 4A) in 17 games this season, but has only one point (1G / 0A) in his last eight games. Jeff Malott enters the lineup as Kuzmenko's replacement.

Girard has not played since suffering an upper-body injury in Colorado's second game of the season, but should make his return to the lineup in one of Colorado's next four games during their home stand. The 27-year-old Girard has seen a decreased role in recent seasons, but still tallied 24 points (3G / 21A) in 73 games last season.

Declan Chisholm will return to Washington's lineup on Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes, sending van Riemsdyk to the sidelines as a healthy scratch. The 34-year-old van Riemsdyk is averaging 14:49 time-on-ice and has two points (1G / 1A) in 13 games this season.