San Jose Sharks at Pittsburgh Penguins: game preview
San JoseSharks2026-27: 2-1-0 · 4 pts · 2025-26: 39-35-8 · 86 pts · 24that
PittsburghPenguins2026-27: 2-1-0 · 4 pts · 2025-26: 41-25-16 · 98 pts · 10thTwelve points apart last season
San Jose finished last season 24th in the league on 86 points. Pittsburgh finished 10th on 98.
Game-day prices arrive with the afternoon snapshot, about 4:30 PM ET on the day of the game.
Meeting number 61
Across 60 completed games, San Jose lead the head-to-head 30-23-7.
Last 5 meetings
See all: Last 5 meetings →The table on each 2025-26 meeting night
League rank after that night's games; a longer bar is a higher place. On 18 Oct 2025, San Jose were 31st in the league and Pittsburgh 9th. By 13 Dec 2025 it was 19th and 15th.
San Jose out-attempted Pittsburgh 138 to 129
Every attempt from the last meetings, both teams shooting right.
San Jose Sharks
Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh have created the better chances, last 10 games
Shot quality both ways: expected goals weigh every unblocked attempt by its chance of scoring. Finishing above zero means more goals than the chances.
This season: 3 games for San Jose, 3 for Pittsburgh. Small sample: early-season xG moves a lot from night to night.
Last 10 games: 10 games for San Jose, 10 for Pittsburgh.
2025-26: 82 games for San Jose, 82 for Pittsburgh.
Power play and penalty kill, season and series
This season's rates first, then 2025-26 and the last meetings between the two. Power-play chances are counted from the penalty log with coincidental minors cancelled; faceoffs are each club's wins over draws taken.
All bars share one scale · 0–100%SeasonLast meetings
San Jose
Small samplePittsburgh
Small sampleSkaters to watch
Each club's top three forwards and defencemen by points this season, with 2025-26 one tap away.
Who has stopped this matchup
Save percentage in the last meetings by goalie. Starters are confirmed on game day.
Expected starter after their game on 4 Dec: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.
Expected starter after their game on 5 Dec: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.
San Jose crease
SJS · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 3 Dec
No appearances against Pittsburgh in the last meetings.
Pittsburgh crease
PIT · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 3 Dec
No appearances against San Jose in the last meetings.
Scoring rates point to about 6.8 goals
No total is posted yet: it arrives with the game-day prices. Until then, the scoring rates and the recent meetings set the range.
Goals in the last 5 meetings
Bar length is total goals, coloured by the winner.
Scoring rates
San Jose3.004.003.063.56
Pittsburgh5.002.673.573.27Goals for and against per game. The estimate averages each team’s scoring with the other’s goals allowed, and leans on 2025-26 until a team has played 20 games.
9 on the injury lists
San Jose · injuries
Pittsburgh · injuries
Latest moves
See all: Latest moves →Placed C Patrick Giles on waivers.
Placed G Ilya Samsonov on waivers.
Placed RW Ethan Cardwell, D Libor Hajek and LW Tye Felhaber on waivers.
Activated C/RW Benjamin Kindel from injured reserve. Placed C/LW David Gustafsson on waivers.
Assigned F Rutger McGroarty to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL).
Reinstated C Blake Lizotte from injured reserve.
San Jose · 2026 draft
See all: San Jose · 2026 draft →Pittsburgh · 2026 draft
See all: Pittsburgh · 2026 draft →
Updated after every final