Penguins host Stars with goalie plans unsettled

The Dallas Stars visit the Pittsburgh Penguins Saturday at PPG Paints Arena, with puck drop at 7 p.m. ET. ESPN+ carries the game nationally, with Prime Video serving the Dallas market. Saturday is the first of two meetings between the two teams this season. Read more: Penguins Stars preview

Pittsburgh enters at 2-2-1 after Friday's 3-2 shootout loss at Columbus, a game the desk already covered separately. Dallas is 2-2-0 after a 4-0 win at Buffalo on Thursday.

Goalie assignments were unconfirmed as of Saturday morning. Daily Faceoff listed both Jake Oettinger and Arturs Silovs as unconfirmed, with neither club making an official announcement.

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Sergei Murashov played the full 65 minutes in Columbus Friday, stopping 43 of 45 shots, a workload that points toward Silovs getting the rest-day call at home. Oettinger made 26 saves in Thursday's shutout win at Buffalo, his second shutout in a row.

Andrei Kuzmenko has been away from Pittsburgh's lineup since his father's death in late September. The NHL again placed him on non-roster status this week, which kept him out of games at Washington and Columbus. No reporting has placed him back in Saturday's lineup.

Justin Brazeau remains week-to-week with the lower-body injury that kept him out of the season opener, with no report confirming a return for Saturday. Ryan Graves also remains out with a knee injury, with no firm timetable given for his return.

Dallas is also shorthanded. Joel Kiviranta and Matt Duchene are both out, and forward Cameron Hughes, recovering from core surgery, has not been confirmed to play Saturday either. Harrison Scott and Luke Krys are also unavailable for Dallas.

Market sets Dallas as favorite

DraftKings lists Dallas as a -155 moneyline favorite to Pittsburgh's +130, per ESPN.

The puck line has the Stars at -1.5 (+160) and the Penguins at +1.5 (-192). The total sits at 6.5, with the over priced at +100 and the under at -120.

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Pittsburgh also added to its blue line this week, acquiring Spencer Stastney from Edmonton for forward Filip Hallander on Oct. 7. His Pittsburgh debut date remained unconfirmed as of this week's reporting. The trade added depth on a blue line already missing Graves to injury.

Bryan Rust, back from the upper-body injury that cost him the first three games, scored in his season debut at Washington last Wednesday and gives Pittsburgh a healthier wing group heading into Saturday's game.

Pittsburgh is getting healthier up front, but with Kuzmenko and Brazeau still out, the lineup remains thinner than its record suggests. The Penguins open a four-game road trip Tuesday at Chicago, followed by stops in Colorado, Las Vegas and Utah before a home date with Florida on Oct. 22.

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