{"id":536904,"date":"2026-04-02T17:07:17","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T17:07:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/536904\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T17:07:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T17:07:17","slug":"lines-goalies-how-to-watch-vs-lightning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/536904\/","title":{"rendered":"Lines, Goalies, & How to Watch vs. Lightning"},"content":{"rendered":"

TAMPA, Fla. \u2014 A playoff hope has become a downhill chase as Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a>\u00a0(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.<\/p>\n

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

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\u2019 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. <\/p>\n

After a pair of resounding wins, first on Monday over the New York Islanders, then Tuesday over the Detroit Red Wings<\/a>, 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. <\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

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<\/a> had a goal and an assist. Justin Brazeau<\/a> broke a goalless drought, and Noel Acciari scored his second goal in two games as the Penguins rolled.<\/p>\n

Goalie Stuart Skinner<\/a> made a few difficult, key saves to keep the Penguins in firm control. Skinner stopped 22 of 23 shots.<\/p>\n

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. <\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Coach Dan Muse<\/a> has signaled he\u2019s willing to abandon his goalie rotations down the stretch, and Skinner has been favored over Arturs Silovs.<\/p>\n

How to Watch<\/p>\n

The Penguins return to their regional sports network. <\/p>\n

TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh<\/p>\n

Radio: 105.9 The X<\/p>\n

Penguins Lines<\/p>\n

Egor Chinakhov-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust<\/p>\n

Anthony Mantha-Rickard Rakell-Justin Brazeau<\/p>\n

Tommy Novak\u2013Ben Kindel-Evgeni Malkin<\/p>\n

Elmer Soderblom-Connor Dewar-Noel Acciari<\/p>\n

Defense<\/p>\n

Parker Wotherspoon-Erik Karlsson<\/p>\n

Sam Girard-Kris Letang<\/p>\n

Ryan Shea-Connor Clifton<\/p>\n

Goalie: Stuart Skinner, confirmed<\/p>\n

Lightning Lines<\/p>\n

Jake Guentzel-Brayden Point-Nikita Kucherov<\/p>\n

Gage Concalves-Anthony Cirelli-Oliver Bjorkstrand<\/p>\n

Zemgus Girgensons-Yanni Gourde-Pontus Holmberg<\/p>\n

Corey Perry-Nick Paul-Mitchell Chaffee<\/p>\n

Defense<\/p>\n

J.J. Moser-Darren Raddysh<\/p>\n

Ryan McDonagh-Erik Cernak<\/p>\n

Charle-Edouard D\u2019Astous\u2013Emil Lilleberg<\/p>\n

Goalie: Andrei Vasilevskiy, expected<\/p>\n

Special Teams<\/p>\n

Penguins\u2019 power play: 23.9% 9th. Penguins penalty kill: 81.4%, 7th.<\/p>\n

Lightning power play: 22.1%, 14th. Lightning penalty kill: 82.1%, 3rd.<\/p>\n

Penguins Game Notes<\/p>\n

Despite Tampa Bay\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

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).<\/p>\n

Tuesday, Anthony Mantha scored his 30th goal of the season. The first time he\u2019s 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\u2019s accumulated vs. one opponent.<\/p>\n

The NHL named Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson the No. 2 star for the month of March. <\/p>\n

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 \u2013 624) for the seventh-most assists by a defenseman with one franchise in NHL history.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Bryan Rust is just two points shy of becoming the 11th player in franchise history to reach 500 points.<\/p>\n

Penguins defenseman Caleb Jones\u2019s 20 games suspension is over, but coach Dan Muse said he will not be available for the remainder of the season. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTags: Penguins game<\/a> Penguins lines<\/a> Penguins starting goalie<\/a> Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> Tampa Bay Lightning<\/a> <\/p>\n

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