Notables
* The Pens play their final game before the holiday break against the Carolina Hurricanes. It's the first of four meetings between the teams.
* The Pens have gone 9-3-1 against the Hurricanes during Mike Sullivan's tenure, including a 4-1-1 run at PNC Arena.
* Last year, the Pens split the season series with Carolina, going 2-2-0. Jake Guentzel was the Pens' leading scorer, getting 5 points (2G-3A).
* The Pens are 4-1 in their last five games heading into tonight, and a huge reason for that has been the play of the team's goaltenders, Matt Murray and Casey DeSmith. The duo has split the starts in this stretch, during which the Pens have been outshot, 201-161, yet outscored foes, 15-12. The Pens did not hold a morning skate, so head coach Mike Sullivan will announce tonight's starting goalie when he meets with the media at 5 p.m.
* Overall, the Pens are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games; and 10-4-3 in their past 17 games. This run of success has improved the Penguins from the very bottom of the Eastern Conference standings to third place in the Metropolitan Division.
* Tonight's game will mark the Pens' 4,000th regular-season NHL game. They are one of five franchises who will hit the mark in the next week, joining the Stars, Kings, Flyers and Blues. The Pens have 1,799 wins, 1,681 losses, 383 ties and 136 overtime losses.
* The Pens' hottest player is Bryan Rust, as he enters tonight having scored in a career-high 4 straight games (5 goals total). He now has 8 goals and 9 points in his last 6 games after scoring 1 goal and 7 points in the first 29 games of the season.
* Carolina's Andrei Svechnikov has recorded a four-game point streak (4G-1A) for the first time in his career. Calvin de Haan (4A) and Justin Faulk (3A) have each recorded assists in three straight games, matching their career-long assist streaks.
Injuries
PIT - Jamie Oleksiak (concussion), Justin Schultz (left leg fracture).
CAR - Haydn Fleury (concussion).
