Penguins At Sharks Preview: Lineups, Game Notes, Where To Watch

The Pittsburgh Penguins have begun their three-game California road swing an even 1-1, and Wednesday, they will look to come away with a winning record when they take on the San Jose Sharks.

And, presumably, they'll be doing so with a different lineup. 

On Tuesday, the Penguins held a practice in Anaheim before heading to San Jose, and they debuted some new line combinations. The top line of Rickard Rakell, Sidney Crosby, and Evgeni Malkin remained untouched, but the other three lines saw a little bit of an overhaul. 

Nick Robertson earned a promotion to the second line with Ben Kindel and Egor Chinakhov, while Tommy Novak slid back to the center position on the third line between Ville Koivunen and Justin Brazeau, with Hendrix Lapierre out. In addition, forward Rutger McGroarty appears to be taking Lapierre's spot in the lineup, and he was placed on the fourth line with Blake Lizotte and Connor Dewar. 

Head coach Dan Muse also confirmed that rookie goaltender Sergei Murashov, who earned his first victory of the season in a 5-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings Saturday. Sam Girard, who missed practice with a "maintenance day" Tuesday, will probably slot back in. 

Here are the projected lines and pairings for Sunday's matchup:

Forwards
Rickard Rakell-Sidney Crosby-Evgeni Malkin
Egor Chinakhov-Ben Kindel-Nick Robertson
Ville Koivunen-Tommy Novak-Justin Brazeau
Connor Dewar-Blake Lizotte-Rutger McGroarty

Defensemen
Spencer Stastney-Erik Karlsson
Sam Girard-Kaedan Korczak
Declan Carlile-Kris Letang

The Sharks have not exactly come out the gate on fire to start the season, as they are 8-11-1 and are 3-7 in their last 10. They added some veterans to complement their youth this summer to try to take the next step toward playoff contention, including defensemen Darnell Nurse and Jacob Trouba, who are a combined minus-11 this season.

Of course, the player to watch is always 20-year-old superstar Macklin Celebrini, who has seven goals and 21 points in 18 games this season for the Sharks. Their next-closest point producer is center Will Smith with 13 points in 20 games. 

This sheds light on the Sharks' minus-20 goal differential, which is the fourth-worst mark in the league behind only the Philadelphia Flyers, Chicago Blackhawks, and Vancouver Canucks. 

Puck drop is set for 10:00 p.m. ET on SportsNet Pittsburgh. You can also listen to the game on 105.9 'The X."

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