{"id":536137,"date":"2026-04-02T06:57:30","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T06:57:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/536137\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T06:57:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T06:57:30","slug":"penguins-lightning-hope-to-shake-off-erratic-march-in-playoff-push-field-level-media-professional-sports-content-solutions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/536137\/","title":{"rendered":"Penguins, Lightning hope to shake off erratic March in playoff push – Field Level Media – Professional sports content solutions"},"content":{"rendered":"

As second-place teams having worked their way through an erratic March, the Pittsburgh Penguins and Tampa Bay Lightning will try to sharpen their respective games as the playoffs approach when they meet Thursday in Tampa.<\/p>\n

The Penguins (38-21-16, 92 points), who have seven games remaining, went 8-6-3 last month but capped it with Tuesday\u2019s 5-1 home rout of the slumping Detroit Red Wings. Pittsburgh tallied three times in the first period and received 22 saves from goaltender Stuart Skinner for their second straight win and third in four contests.<\/p>\n

The club fortified its position in the Metropolitan Division standings over the past two games, which included a high-scoring 8-3 win at the New York Islanders on Monday.<\/p>\n

The four points in two outings helped Pittsburgh, which trails the Metropolitan Division-leading Carolina Hurricanes (47-21-6, 100 points), separate on the third-place Islanders and fend off any advances from division foe Columbus, which has 88 points and holds the No. 2 wild-card spot.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust a massive four-point swing for us, in terms of (winning two straight), especially against those teams that we\u2019re fighting with for spots,\u201d said Skinner, who is 11-7-5 since being traded to Pittsburgh. \u201cThe East is so tight, so anytime you get two, three wins in a row, that\u2019s a big jump.\u201d<\/p>\n

Winger Anthony Mantha netted the game\u2019s second marker, the official game-winner, to become the ninth Pittsburgh player to reach 30 goals in the Sidney Crosby-Evgeni Malkin era, which began in the 2007 campaign, and joined a list that includes Tampa Bay\u2019s Jake Guentzel.<\/p>\n

First line right winger Bryan Rust (27 goals, 34 assists) was scratched before the game with a lower-body injury.<\/p>\n

Breaking a recent trend against Montreal, the Lightning (46-22-6, 98 points) did not fall behind early by a multi-goal margin and have to work their way back with a strong rally. Instead, they trailed 1-0 in the first period after the Montreal Canadiens\u2019 Juraj Slafkovsky fired in his 15th power-play goal.<\/p>\n

Guentzel answered with his 36th tally, second on the club, just 1:16 later. But Montreal\u2019s Cole Caufield potted No. 47 in the second, and Mike Matheson and Nick Suzuki put the game away via markers into an empty net for a 4-1 win.<\/p>\n

For a change, Cooper was content with the way his club started.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were fine,\u201d said Cooper, whose club leads the Habs by only two points in the Atlantic Division. \u201cWe didn\u2019t fall down two-zip like we have normally, and the goal we did give up was a 5-on-3. And then we responded right away.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe we should\u2019ve given up two. Maybe we\u2019d have come back (and won).\u201d<\/p>\n

Tampa Bay\u2019s Nikita Kucherov returned from a two-game illness over the weekend but was held off the scoresheet.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s missed two games and hasn\u2019t been on the ice at all,\u201d said Cooper, whose team was 8-6-2 last month. \u201cI think he didn\u2019t have as much gas as he normally does, but that\u2019ll come.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both games between Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay have featured one-goal margins.<\/p>\n

The Penguins won 4-3 behind Malkin\u2019s two tallies in Tampa on Dec. 4, but the Lightning rebounded in a 2-1 victory on Kucherov\u2019s overtime game-winner on Jan. 13.<\/p>\n

\u2013Field Level Media<\/p>\n

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