After two tough divisional losses in a row to the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers, the Pittsburgh Penguins will look to redeem themselves Tuesday when they travel to Pennsylvania’s east side to take on the rival Philadelphia Flyers. The Penguins have been outscored 13-6 over the last two games, and goaltending has been a huge factor. Alex Nedeljkovic surrendered five goals on Saturday against Washington before being pulled in favor of rookie Joel Blomqvist, who gave up three goals and then four more to the Rangers on Sunday. Pittsburgh will roll with Nedeljkovic Tuesday, and they know they have to be a lot harder to play against. “Ned’s played good hockey for us,” head coach Mike Sullivan said. “I thought he played real good hockey for us before the break. When you’re coming out of a break like that, sometimes it’s hard to predict how performance is going to be. The one thing I’ll tell you about Ned is that guy digs in. He competes hard, he puts the time in, and he’s a resilient guy… a competitive guy. I’m confident he’ll respond.” In other good news, the Penguins activated scoring winger Bryan Rust from injured reserve earlier Tuesday, so he’ll be in the lineup against Philadelphia. In a corresponding move, the Penguins placed forward Boko Imama on IR. In addition, defenseman Matt Grzelcyk – who was injured during Sunday’s game and did not return – appears to have avoided anything serious and will be back in the lineup Tuesday. Here is the rest of the Penguins’ lineup: The Flyers sit just two points above the Penguins in the Eastern Conference standings. They are 3-6-1 in their last 10 games, but they’ve won two straight games against the Penguins – before the 4 Nations break – and the Edmonton Oilers. In their last games against the Oilers, forward Owen Tippett scored twice, and star rookie Matvei Michkov registered three points. Michkov has 17 goals and 39 points in 56 games this season. The Penguins have split the season series with the Flyers so far and will face them again at home on Thursday. Defenseman Erik Karlsson is riding a seven-game point streak, while forward Rickard Rakell is just two points shy of 500 for his NHL career.
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