The second-place Florida Panthers (15-9-1) will open a two-game swing through the Keystone State when they face the Pittsburgh Penguins (10-12-4) tonight at PPG Paints Arena.
After ending their recent struggles with an effective 5-1 win over the Toronto Maples Leafs on Wednesday, the Panthers were absolutely dominant in sweeping a home-and-home against the Carolina Hurricanes over the long holiday weekend. Aaron Ekblad, Mackie Samoskevich, Sam Bennett, Aleksander Barkov, Adam Boqvist and Evan Rodrigues lit the lamp in Saturday’s 6-0 rout that saw goaltender Spencer Knight make 20 saves to post his first shutout since November 9. 2022. With Sergei Bobrovsky on baby watch, Knight will man the net again.
The Penguins have rebounded from a depressing 2-5-3 run by posting consecutive victories over the Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames. Kris Letang and Michael Bunting each registered a goal and two assists in Saturday’s 6-2 home ice win over the Flames. Ageless wonder Sidney Crosby, who has played in all 26 games, leads the Penguins in scoring with 25 points.
- WHEN: 7 p.m. ET
- WHERE: PPG Paints Arena – Pittsburgh, PA
- ON THE TUBE: Scripps, SN-PIT
- ON THE DIAL: 560 WQAM (D/B), 1230 The Gambler (PB), Thunder 100.3 (Keys)
- SOCIALS: #TimeToHunt, #LetsGoPens, #FLAvsPIT, @LitterBoxCats, LBC FaceBook
- ENEMY INTEL: Pensburgh
- FLA IN SEASON SERIES: Game 1 of 3
- LAST MEETING: FLA 5, @PIT 2 (Recap) – 2/14/2024
- NEXT MEETING: January 3, 2025
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Florida: Knight (4-4-0 .911 / 2.31 1SO) Pittsburgh: Jarry (3-3-1 .881 / 3.38 1SO)
- PLAYER STATS: Florida / Pittsburgh
Tuesday in the Atlantic (Standings/Panthers Playoff Chances)
- DETROIT (10-11-3 23P) at BOSTON (12-11-3 27P) 7 p.m. (ESPN+, HULU)
- Colorado (13-12-0 26P) at BUFFALO (11-11-2 24P) 7 p.m.
- New York Islanders (9-10-6 24P) at MONTREAL (8-13-3 19P) 7 p.m.
Idle: TOR (32P), TBL (26P), OTT (22P)