Penguins

Penguins vs. Lightning, Playoff Chase Game 59: Lines, Notes & What to Watch

Published

1 year ago

February 26, 2023

Pittsburgh Penguins game vs. Tampa Bay Lightning

The Pittsburgh Penguins (28-21-9) have soundly outplayed three of their last four opponents but finally broke a four-game losing streak with a 3-2 OT win Saturday over the St. Louis Blues. The Penguins had lost five of their previous six and have won two in a row only twice in the last two months. They will attempt their second win in-a-row when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning (37-17-4) at PPG Paints Arena Sunday evening.

The puck drops just after 6 p.m.

Note the early time. It will be a significant advantage for the Penguins, who played Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Tampa Bay didn’t play until 8 p.m. in Detroit. Tampa Bay beat Detroit 3-0, giving the Penguins some playoff standings help, but they will be a tired crew.

The Penguins lead Detroit and the Buffalo Sabres in the wild-card race by one point. Buffalo has one game in hand on Detroit and the Penguins.

Saturday, Tristan Jarry returned to form in his third game since missing 16 of 18 over six weeks. He stopped 25 of 27 shots as the Penguins bombarded St. Louis goalie Jordan Binnington with 47 shots. However, the Penguins again blew a late third-period lead before Bryan Rust’s OT winner netted two points and lots of good vibes.

Get Dave Molinari’s Penguins recap from St. Louis.

The Penguins also lost Kasperi Kapanen on waivers to St. Louis, thus freeing the Penguins of his $3.2 million salary and allowing them to immediately activate defenseman Jan Rutta without additional moves.

The Tampa Bay Lightning are the three-time defending Stanley Cup Finalist and won two of the last three Cups. They lost to the Colorado Avalanche in last season’s Final and remain largely intact. Tampa Bay is in third place in the top-heavy Atlantic Division. They trail Toronto by two points for second place and are on cruise control.

Tampa Bay is 5-2-3 in their last 10.

Casey DeSmith is most likely the Penguins’ goalie. Brian Elliott is the likely Tampa Bay starter.

Expected Pittsburgh Penguins Lines:

Guentzel-Crosby-Rakell

Zucker-Malkin-Rust

McGinn-Carter-Heinen

O’Connor-Blueger-Archibald

Defense

Dumoulin-Letang

Pettersson-Petry

Joseph-Rutta

Goalie:

Casey DeSmith

Expected Lightning Lines, per PuckPedia.com:

Hagel-Point-Kucherov

Killorn-Cirelli-Stamkos

Colton-Paul-Namestnikov

Maroon-Bellemare-Perry

Defense:

Hedman-Bogosian

Sergachev-Perbix

Cole-Foote

Goalie:

Brian Elliott

Special Teams:

Penguins Power Play: 21.4%, 15th

Penguins Penalty Kill: 80.1%, 15th

Lightning Power Play: 25.6%, 2nd

Lightning Penalty Kill: 81.5%, 10th

Pittsburgh Penguins Game Notes:

The Penguins have won three of their last four games against the Lightning (3-1-0) and have points in four of their last five against them (3-1-1).

Kris Letang has 37 points (5-32-37) in 42 games vs. Tampa Bay. He has more points against the Lightning than any non- Metropolitan Division team.

Jeff Carter has 17 goals and 29 points (17-12-29) in 39 games vs. the Lightning. Only six active players have more goals against the Lightning than Carter.

Evgeni Malkin had the primary assist on Bryan Rust’s OT winner in St. Louis. He moved into a tie with Ryan Getzlaf for the fourth-most overtime points in NHL history (36). Sidney Crosby is the NHL’s all-time leader in OT points (41).

Marcus Pettersson scored his first goal of the season Saturday. It was his first goal of the season and first tally since April 29, 2022, vs. Columbus

How to Watch:

TV: AT&T Sportsnet, NHL Network

Radio: 105.9 The X

Penguins Bets

If there’s a time to bet on the Penguins, it’s with the extra rest against a team playing two games in less than 24 hours. Last week, both the Penguins and Islanders fell flat in the second night of a short turnaround.

Players can click here for a free $50 bet with initial deposit at DraftKings.