LOS ANGELES -- Tristan Jarry will be in goal when the Penguins face Los Angeles tonight at 10:38 at Staples Center.
Mike Sullivan announced the choice when he met with reporters a couple of hours before the opening faceoff.
Jarry has made one previous career start against the Kings, turning aside 38 of 42 shots in a 5-4 shootout victory Dec. 14 at PPG Paints Arena. He is 12-1-1, with a 2.06 goals-against average and .932 save percentage, against Western Conference opponents.
Sullivan said forward Jared McCann, who was held out of practice Tuesday, will not play because "he is continuing to be evaluated for an upper-body injury." He said he does not have a sense of the severity of McCann's injury, the nature of which has not been specified.
Shortly after Tuesday's workout, the Penguins announced that forward Sam Lafferty had been summoned from their farm team in Wilkes-Barre on emergency recall, meaning that he could be used only if the Penguins do not have 12 healthy forwards available.
That will be the case with McCann sidelined, and Lafferty likely will be deployed at left wing on a line with Teddy Blueger and Brandon Tanev.
Lafferty and Anthony Angello had been assigned to Wilkes-Barre just a day earlier, in conjunction with the acquisition of three forwards -- Patrick Marleau, Conor Sheary and Evan Rodrigues -- as the NHL trade deadline approached Monday afternoon.
The Penguins did not hold a game-day skate Wednesday, but based on their line configurations at practice Tuesday, Sheary will work with Sidney Crosby and Jason Zucker on the top line, while Rodrigues will be between Marleau and Dominik Simon.
That doesn't mean those units will be together for long if Sullivan isn't satisfied with their performance.
"There's always that decision, between patience and trying to effect some change," he said. "We'll certainly watch and see what we get ... We make (personnel) decisions fairly frequently sometimes to try to affect momentum in a game. That's certainly something that's always on the table."
• The Penguins have lost three consecutive games in regulation, matching their worst streak of the season. They also dropped three in a row Oct. 19-23, being beaten at home by Vegas and on the road at Florida and Tampa Bay.
• Crosby, who does not have an assist in his past three games, needs two for 800 in his career. He will become the 32nd player in NHL history to reach that milestone and join San Jose's Joe Thornton as the only active players to do so.
• The Penguins are 4-1-3 in their past eight games against the Kings and 4-2-1 in their past seven at Staples Center.
• Evgeni Malkin is scheduled to play in his 900th career game tonight, while Patric Hornqvist will appear in his 400th regular-season game with the Penguins. Crosby and Mario Lemieux are the only other players to appear in 900 games with the Penguins.
• Los Angeles has been outscored, 72-39, in the second period this season.
