The Pittsburgh Penguins come into Thursday night carrying plenty of baggage: a four-game losing streak, seven losses in their last eight, and more roster turnover on top of it. After the latest injury news on top-line winger Bryan Rust and the placement of center Ben Kindel on injured reserve following his medical episode on the team flight home from Salt Lake City on Tuesday, the lineup keeps shifting again as the Penguins get set to face the Florida Panthers at PPG Paints Arena.
Puck drop is just after 7 p.m., with Kevin Rabbits singing the National Anthem.
Pittsburgh’s last outing was a 5-4 loss to the Utah Mammoth at the Delta Center, a final score that made the game look tighter than it really felt. The Penguins had just one regulation win in their first 10 games, that 7-0 rout of the Philadelphia Flyers, and the problems in Utah looked familiar: shaky defensive-zone coverage, lost battles at the net front and turnovers.
Erik Karlsson opened the scoring, while Rickard Rakell, Egor Chinakhov and Declan Carlile also scored. Artur Silovs had a strong night in stretches, even though he finished with 24 saves on 29 shots.
Silovs will be back in goal Thursday.
Florida arrives after a strange and loud Wednesday night in Ottawa, where boos, jeers and angry chants were directed at winger Brady Tkachuk during the Panthers’ 5-1 win over the Senators at the Canadian Tire Center. Tkachuk scored Florida’s only goal, and Akira Schmid stopped 25 shots.
The Panthers are expected to make history in net Thursday, with 6-foot-8 Cooper Black slated to start. He is believed to be the biggest goalie in NHL history.
Here’s how the teams line up.
For Pittsburgh, the forwards are Tommy Novak with Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell; Ville Koivunen with Hendrix Lapierre and Evgeni Malkin; Andrei Kuzmenko with Blake Lizotte and Egor Chinakhov; and Elmer Soderblom with Connor Dewar and Nick Robertson. On defense, the pairs are Spencer Stastney with Erik Karlsson, Declan Carlile with Kaedan Korczak, and Ilya Solovyov with Kris Letang.
Florida’s forward groups are Brady Tkachuk with Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk; Carter Verhaeghe with Sam Reinhart and Lars Eller; Eetu Luostarinen with Anton Lundell and Sandis Vilmanis; and Bokondji Imama with Cole Schwindt and Garnet Hathaway. The defense pairs are Gustav Forsling with Aaron Ekblad, Niko Mikkola with Seth Jones, and Dmitry Kulikov with Radko Gudas.
The Penguins’ power play sits at 23.3%, ninth in the league, while their penalty kill is 80.8%, 15th. Florida’s power play is at 20.9%, 17th, and its penalty kill is 80.6%, 13th.
There are also a couple of numbers worth keeping in mind. Karlsson has five power-play points, tied for second among NHL defensemen, and he has 11 points overall in 10 games. Crosby is one assist away from tying Ray Bourque’s 1111 for the most all-time with one franchise.
And even with all the recent trouble, Pittsburgh has owned this matchup before. The Penguins went 3-0-0 against Florida last season and outscored them 19-9. Crosby and Malkin each posted eight points in those three games, with three goals and five assists apiece.
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For a team already navigating the usual in-season attrition, the absence adds another layer of uncertainty to a lineup that has to stay flexible on the fly. Hayes gets the recall opportunity, while the broader picture remains focused on how long Pittsburgh can keep absorbing these temporary absences without it affecting the rhythm of the roster. [Read more 🡒]