Game Preview: Lightning vs. Penguins

The Pittsburgh Penguins host the Tampa Bay Lightning today at PPG Paints Arena at 6 PM. The Lightning are currently 37-17-4, while the Penguins are 28-21-9. The game will be able to be viewed on NHL Network, AT&T Sportsnet Pittsburgh, and Bally Sports Sun.

Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak will serve his second game of a two-game suspension after he elbowed Buffalo Sabres forward Kyle Okposo on Thursday. He missed the Lightning’s last game against the Detroit Red Wings yesterday, in which the Lightning beat the Wings 3-0. Casey DeSmith will likely start for the Penguins after Tristan Jarry made 25 saves in the Penguins’ 3-2 overtime win versus the St. Louis Blues.

Tampa Bay Lightning Projected Lines

Brandon Hagel – Brayden Point – Nikita Kucherov

Alex Killorn – Anthony Cirelli – Steven Stamkos

Ross Colton – Nicholas Paul – Vladislav Namestnikov

Pat Maroon – Pierre-Edouard Bellemare – Corey Perry

Victor Hedman – Zach Bogosian

Mikhail Sergachev – Nick Perbix

Ian Cole – Cal Foote

Brian Elliott

Andrei Vasilevskiy

Scratched: D Haydn Fleury

Suspended: D Erik Cernak

Pittsburgh Penguins Projected Lineup

Jake Guentzel – Sidney Crosby – Rickard Rakell

Jason Zucker – Evgeni Malkin – Bryan Rust

Brock McGinn – Jeff Carter – Danton Heinen

Drew O’Connor – Teddy Blueger – Josh Archibald

Brian Dumoulin – Kris Letang

Marcus Pettersson – Jeff Petry

Pierre-Olivier Joseph – Jan Rutta

Casey DeSmith

Tristan Jarry

Scratched: D Chad Ruhwedel

Injured: F Ryan Poehling (upper-body), D Mark Friedman (upper-body)

Players To Watch

TBL: F Brayden Point (3G, 4A, 7P in past 5 GP)

PIT: F Evgeni Malkin (3G, 6P in past 5 GP)

Starting Goalies

TBL: Brian Elliott: 9-3-2, 2.90 GAA, .904 SV%, 1 SO

PIT: Casey DeSmith: 10-12-4, 3.28 GAA, .904 SV%, 0 SO

Team Stats

PP%

TBL: 25.6 (2nd)

PIT: 21.4 (15th)

PK%

TBL: 81.5 (10th)

PIT: 80.1 (15th)

FO%

TBL: 52.2 (8th)

PIT: 52.0 (9th)

GF/GP

TBL: 3.57 (4th)

PIT: 3.17 (15th)

GA/GP

TBL: 2.88 (12th)

PIT: 3.21 (19th)

Season Series

The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-2 on October 15th. The two teams will play again on March 2nd in Tampa.

Stanley Cup Aspirations – Cue’ the Duck Boats Pod

The boys are back after a long break but have plenty to talk about as the playoffs are in full swing. We go series by series, looking at how teams have fared so far and who will come out on top. Thanks for listening! Please rate and review our show on your favorite listening platform. Check out our partner's website at www.insidetherink.com for all your latest hockey news.