Game Preview: 12.01.25 at Philadelphia Flyers

The Pittsburgh Penguins take on the Philadelphia Flyers at the Xfinity Mobile Arena. Puck drop is set for 7 PM.

This game will be available to watch on SportsNet Pittsburgh and NHL Network. Fans can listen to the game on 105.9 The X and on the Penguins app.

Team Records: PIT (12-7-5), PHI (14-7-3)

Pittsburgh has points in 10 of their last 12 games against Philadelphia (7-2-3). The Penguins are 13-5-4 in their last 22 games played against the Flyers. Pittsburgh has points in six of its last nine road games in Philadelphia (4-3-2).

Morning Skate Notes

Rutger McGroarty and Boko Imama were called up from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and joined the team for a full morning skate after a travel day on Sunday.

McGroarty had missed all of training camp and the first part of the season with an upper-body injury. After getting cleared to play, he joined WBS in mid-November and has been lighting it up. The 21-year-old forward has four goals and seven points in five AHL games.

McGroarty credited the medical team, his trainers back home in Michigan, and surrounding himself with good people as the biggest reasons for his early success.

“Because I feel like it's very easy to get a negative mindset when you're hurt… but I feel like my friends, my loved ones, were there for me the whole time,” McGroarty said. “I just went in and tried playing my game… I think I play a full 200-foot game, and I like to be hungry around the net.”

He had a strong finish to last season, making his NHL debut and picking up one goal and two assists in eight total games. Instead of getting the chance to build on that right away, McGroarty had to deal with a longer-term injury and earn his way back to Pittsburgh. But having the mindset of growing where you’re planted also helped.

“I feel like wherever you are, you have to find a way to grow. And it's super easy there. I mean, the development team that they have, the players there, the coaches there, everybody is so dialed in and wants to get better,” McGroarty said. “So, I feel like it's such a great group, and some of my best friends were there. So, I loved every second of it, going there, hanging out with them, getting to share the sheet with them again. And for me, I was just so juiced to play hockey again. I could have gone and played beer league back in Nebraska and I would have loved it. Overall, I was grateful to play hockey again.”

Imama is one of the toughest customers in the league, built for matchups like tonight’s cross-state rivalry.

“One thing’s for sure, I'm gonna be playing my game. I'll be physical out there. I'll do whatever I have to do to help the team. And sometimes it leads to more, but whatever it leads to, I'll be ready. That's all I can say.”

He’s picked up three goals in 19 games with WBS, including a beauty of a penalty shot goal.

“Yeah, I don’t get too many of those,” Imama said with a laugh. “I was like, I might as well just try something, you know? And I did, it worked, and yeah, it was great.”

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Game Notes

Quick Hits

1. Bryan Rust has 26 points (11G-15A) in 36 career games against Philadelphia, which includes 11 points in his last nine games (4G-7A).

2. The Penguins are ranked second in the NHL in power-play percentage (30.4%) and fifth in penalty kill success rate (84.8%).

3. Since entering the league in 2006-07, no defenceman has more points against the Flyers than Kris Letang (54). He has points in 14 of his last 22 games (5G-13A) against Philadelphia. His plus-32 versus the Flyers is second in NHL history behind Bobby Orr (+37).

4. The Pegnuins have points in nine of their last 12 road games this season (6-3-3), and have scored three or more goals in eight of the 12 games.

5. Evgeni Malkin has picked up 95 points (32G-63A) in 78 career games against the Flyers. The New York Islanders (97) are the only team he's notched more points against than Philadelphia.

GOALS GALORE

Sidney Crosby tallied a goal and an assist on Saturday, giving him multiple points in back-to-back games (3G-1A) and three of his last four contests overall (4G-2A). Crosby’s goal on Saturday helped him surpass Dave Andreychuk (640) for the 15th-most goals in NHL history.

Crosby has been on a tear to start the season, as only three players have scored more goals than his 16 this year: Nathan MacKinnon (20), Morgan Geekie (20), and Kirill Kaprizov (17).

DOMINATING D PAIR

Defenseman Parker Wotherspoon has found success on Pittsburgh’s top defensive pairing with Erik Karlsson after signing a two-year contract this past offseason. Wotherspoon, who ranks third on the Penguins averaging a career-best 21:07 of time-on-ice per game, has already established multiple career highs through 24 games.

Wotherspoon has been plus or even in 19 of his 24 games, and he enters tomorrow's game with four points (1G-3A) over his last eight games.

Per moneypuck.com, the Wotherspoon-Karlsson pairing has been on the ice for just 10 goals against during 5-on-5 play. Only four other defense pairings in the NHL has been on the ice for fewer goals against (min. 275 minutes together).

SHUTDOWN DEFENSE

The Penguins have allowed the sixth-fewest goals against in the NHL (67) and have held their opponents to two goals or less 10 times this season (7-0-3 when doing so). They enter tomorrow's game tied with Philadelphia.

HOW SWEDE IT IS

Erik Karlsson is one point shy of surpassing Peter Forsberg for the eighth-most points by a Swedish-born player in NHL history.

CLIMBING THE RANKS

Evgeni Malkin is two assists shy of tying Bobby Clark for the 11th-most assists in NHL history with one team.

THE WIZARD OF CROS

Penguins Captain Sidney Crosby has done some of his best work against the Philadelphia Flyers throughout his career. In 91 career games, Crosby has 57 goals, 78 assists and 135 points. His 57 goals and his 135 points are the most in NHL history versus Philadelphia.

Crosby enters tomorrow's game with points in 19 of his last 22 games versus Philadelphia (15G-18A). Going back further, Crosby has 51 points (21G-30A) in his last 32 games against them, which includes points in 27 of those 32 games.

NCAA CHECK IN

Will Horcoff, one of the Penguins 2025 first-round draft picks (24th overall), has exploded onto the college hockey scene in his first full season with the University of Michigan. The 18-year-old played a pair of games over the weekend, both against Harvard, finishing with a combined stat line of four goals (one OT winner), one assist, eight shots and was plus-3.

Overall on the year, Horcoff has 18 goals, six assists and 24 points in just 18 games. He leads the nation in goals and is tied for first in the NCAA in points.

Away Game Triggers