{"id":545591,"date":"2026-04-07T13:56:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T13:56:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/545591\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T13:56:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T13:56:13","slug":"penguins-game-77-bare-knuckles-lines-notes-how-to-watch-vs-panthers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/545591\/","title":{"rendered":"Penguins Game 77, Bare-Knuckles; Lines, Notes, & How to Watch vs. Panthers"},"content":{"rendered":"

The chase is coming to its conclusion. The Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a>\u00a0(38-22-16) are chasing their first playoff spot since 2022, and their magic number is now just eight points. However, they have a weekend war awaiting them as they host the Florida Panthers (37-35-3) for a two game set at PPG Paints Arena. <\/p>\n

The puck drops Saturday just after 5 p.m. and Mr. Jeff Jimerson performs the national anthem. <\/p>\n

The Penguins are solid favorites today according to the FanDuel odds<\/a>, going off at -215 on the Moneyline. Florida\u2019s season has been derailed by injuries, and more injuries. The complete injury list <\/a>is staggering.<\/p>\n

The Penguins\u2019 momentum and good feelings were crushed by the Tampa Bay Lightning Thursday in a 6-3 loss. Tampa Bay carved the Penguins with three goals in the second period and limited the Penguins to less than a handful of shots in the third. <\/p>\n

Egor Chinakhov<\/a> had a pair of goals, but most of the team was mired a step behind and goalie Stuart Skinner was tagged for five goals on 32 shots faced. <\/p>\n

\u201cI just think that they outworked us and outsmarted us right from the start. I mean, we were up 2-1 in the first, but they were the better team,\u201d said Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson. \u201cAnd then obviously the second, I don\u2019t know if we even played the game, or if they were just really, really that much better than us. And then obviously in the third, we had a little bit of a push, but not enough to sustain anything to come back. It\u2019s one of those nights where we just didn\u2019t come ready to play.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, the Penguins\u2019 pursuers failed to gain ground with a slew of losses. In fact, the Penguins\u2019 magic number decreased from 11 on Thursday to eight following the games Friday night. <\/p>\n

In nine NHL games, Brunicke scored his first NHL goal, but did not tally an assist. In five games with WBS, he had four assists. And in 24 games with Kamloops, Brunicke had 24 points (2-22-24). <\/p>\n

The Penguins selected Brunicke with the 44th overall selection in the 2024 NHL Draft. It was the pick they acquired in the Jake Guentzel trade. <\/p>\n

The two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida squad is embracing its role as spoilers. After injuries to Sasha Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk<\/a>, and several others, sidetracked their season, Florida has beaten the Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators in succession. <\/p>\n

Florida doesn\u2019t need wins; they want them for their own satisfaction. <\/p>\n

Regarding the Penguins\u2019 goaltending rotation, since both goalies will play against the same team this weekend, expect Arturs Silovs to get the first go. Skinner did not have his best Thursday, and an extra day might be advantageous for the netminder who is quietly becoming the Penguins\u2019 No. 1. <\/p>\n

Expect Sergei Bobrvosky in net for Florida Saturday, and former Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Danil Tarasov in net Sunday. <\/p>\n

However, we\u2019re also watching if Muse shuffles his lines again after the very unsuccessful effort in Tampa Bay. Without a morning skate, we\u2019re going to leave the lineup as it was, but we expect changes. <\/p>\n

How to Watch<\/p>\n

TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh <\/p>\n

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

Possible 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: Arturs Silovs, expected<\/p>\n

Panthers Lines<\/p>\n

Carter Verhaeghe-Sam Bennett -Matthew Tkachuk <\/p>\n

Mackie Samoskevich-Eetu Luostarinen-A.J. Greer <\/p>\n

Noah Gregor-Tomas Nosek-Jesper Boqvist <\/p>\n

Nolan Foote-Luke Kunin-Vinnie Hinostroza <\/p>\n

Defense<\/p>\n

Gustav Forsling-Michael Benning <\/p>\n

Donovan Sebrango-Seth Jones <\/p>\n

Tobias Bjornfot-Mikulas Hovorka <\/p>\n

Goalie: Sergei Bobrovsky<\/p>\n

Special Teams<\/p>\n

Penguins\u2019 power play: 24.0% 8th. Penguins penalty kill: 81.4%, 7th.<\/p>\n

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

Penguins Game Notes<\/p>\n

The Penguins have had success against Florida, going 17-7-7 in the last 24 meetings, dating back to 2014. The Penguins are also 11-3-1 in their last 15 home games against Florida. <\/p>\n

Bryan Rust is on a six-game point streak (4-5-9) against the Panthers, which is tied for the longest active point streak in the league versus them.<\/p>\n

The Penguins have the most 30-point scorers (12) and 20-point scorers (15) in the league this season.<\/p>\n

Egor Chinakhov has 16 points (7-9-16) over his last 15 games and has 30 points (17-13-30) in 38 games since joining the Penguins. Since his debut on Jan. 1, no Penguins player has scored more goals.<\/p>\n

Sidney Crosby<\/a> 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

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTags: Florida Panthers<\/a> Penguins game<\/a> Penguins lines<\/a> Penguins starting goalie<\/a> <\/p>\n

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