TAMPA, Fla. — A playoff hope has become a downhill chase as Pittsburgh Penguins (38-21-16) could slash their magic number to single digits with a win Thursday when they visit one of the best teams in the NHL, the Tampa Bay Lightning (46-22-6) at Benchmark International Arena.

The puck drops just after 7 p.m. and one of the best anthems in the game by Sonya Bryson-Kirksey.

The Penguins have seven games to go and a six-point playoff cushion over the Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings, but both also have one game in hand. The Penguins’ Metro Division standing is still perilous, as they lead the New York Islanders by three points for second place (the Penguins have one game in hand), and lead the Columbus Blue Jackets by four.

After a pair of resounding wins, first on Monday over the New York Islanders, then Tuesday over the Detroit Red Wings, the Penguins control their playoff destiny. Their magic number is down to 11, and any combination of Ottawa Senators losing points and Penguins gaining points reduces that number.

Tuesday, the Penguins squashed the listless Red Wings 5-1. By the end of the first period, the game was largely over, and the Penguins led 3-0.

Rickard Rakell snapped a wrister from the slot for the first goal, early in the first period, Anthony Mantha hit the 30-goal plateau for the first time in his career when he pulled the puck out of a net-front scrum and chipped it into a yawning cage. Egor Chinakhov had a goal and an assist. Justin Brazeau broke a goalless drought, and Noel Acciari scored his second goal in two games as the Penguins rolled.

Goalie Stuart Skinner made a few difficult, key saves to keep the Penguins in firm control. Skinner stopped 22 of 23 shots.

Tampa Bay might have a little salty taste after they were beaten on home ice by the Montreal Canadiens Tuesday, 4-1. Tampa Bay is 6-1-2 in their last nine games.

Andrei Vasilevskiy leads Tampa Bay from the net. The perennial Vezina Trophy candidate has a .912 save percentage and a 35-13-4 record. He will start vs. Tamp Bay Thursday.

Coach Dan Muse has signaled he’s willing to abandon his goalie rotations down the stretch, and Skinner has been favored over Arturs Silovs.

How to Watch

The Penguins return to their regional sports network.

TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh

Radio: 105.9 The X

Penguins Lines

Egor Chinakhov-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust

Anthony Mantha-Rickard Rakell-Justin Brazeau

Tommy Novak–Ben Kindel-Evgeni Malkin

Elmer Soderblom-Connor Dewar-Noel Acciari

Defense

Parker Wotherspoon-Erik Karlsson

Sam Girard-Kris Letang

Ryan Shea-Connor Clifton

Goalie: Stuart Skinner, confirmed

Lightning Lines

Jake Guentzel-Brayden Point-Nikita Kucherov

Gage Concalves-Anthony Cirelli-Oliver Bjorkstrand

Zemgus Girgensons-Yanni Gourde-Pontus Holmberg

Corey Perry-Nick Paul-Mitchell Chaffee

Defense

J.J. Moser-Darren Raddysh

Ryan McDonagh-Erik Cernak

Charle-Edouard D’Astous–Emil Lilleberg

Goalie: Andrei Vasilevskiy, expected

Special Teams

Penguins’ power play: 23.9% 9th. Penguins penalty kill: 81.4%, 7th.

Lightning power play: 22.1%, 14th. Lightning penalty kill: 82.1%, 3rd.

Penguins Game Notes

Despite Tampa Bay’s usual position at the top of the standings, the Penguins have points in nine of their last 12 games against Tampa Bay (7-3-2). And the Penguins are 5-2-0 in their last seven visits to Benchmark International Arena dating back to Oct. 23, 2019.

Road warriors: The Penguins have points in five-consecutive road games (4-0-1) and have points in 13 of their last 15 road games overall (9-2-4).

Tuesday, Anthony Mantha scored his 30th goal of the season. The first time he’s reached that plateau. Also, he has 21 points (8G-13A) in 30 career games against the Lightning and is a plus-11. His 21 points are the most he’s accumulated vs. one opponent.

The NHL named Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson the No. 2 star for the month of March.

Defenseman Kris Letang has four points (4A) over his last five games. His assist on Tuesday was the 625th of his career, surpassing Bobby Orr (BOS – 624) for the seventh-most assists by a defenseman with one franchise in NHL history.

Captain Sidney Crosby has points in six of his last seven games played (1-7-8). Crosby is one point shy of tying Steve Yzerman for the seventh-most points in NHL history and second-most points with one franchise all-time.

Bryan Rust is just two points shy of becoming the 11th player in franchise history to reach 500 points.

Penguins defenseman Caleb Jones’s 20 games suspension is over, but coach Dan Muse said he will not be available for the remainder of the season.

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