MATCH:Penguins vs. Coyotes
TIME:7 p.m. EST
PLACE:PPG Paints Arena
TV:AT&T SportsNet
RADIO:105.9 FM, the X
5 THINGS:
1.Tonight's game is the Penguins' Hockey Fights Cancer contest. Players will wear commemorative purple jerseys in warmups, which will be autographed and auctioned with the proceeds benefitting the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center and the Mario Lemieux Foundation.
2.Two Penguins players have overcome their own fights with cancer. Phil Kessel was diagnosed with testicular cancer when he was 19 years old in his rookie season. Olli Maatta was diagnosed with a tumor in his thyroid when he was 19 years old. Both players have been cancer-free following surgeries.
3.The Penguins welcome back Arizona head coach Rick Tocchet, who served as an assistant coach with the Penguins the past three seasons, and was a key contributor to Pittsburgh's back-to-back Stanley Cup titles in 2016 and '17. Tocchet also was a player on the Penguins' 1992 championship team.
4.The Penguins have shutout the Coyotes in the past 2 games in Pittsburgh and won both contests by a combined score of 13-0.
5.Arizona leads the NHL with 406 hits and ranks 5th with 228 blocked shots. It has taken on the personality of Tocchet.
INJURIES:
PIT - Matt Hunwick (concussion), Carter Rowney (hand), Justin Schultz (concussion).
ARI - Jacob Chychrun (lower-body), Niklas Hjalmarsson (upper-body).
MORNING SKATE:
*The Penguins held an optional morning skate. Those that didn't participate were Sidney Crosby, Phil Kessel and Kris Letang. Matt Hunwick and Justin Schultz, both out with concussions, skated.
