Florida: 31-23-12 (74PTS)
Pittsburgh: 40-21-5 (85PTS)
Season Series: 1-2-0
Game Time: 7:00 PM EST
Television: Fox Sports Florida, ROOT
Radio: 560 WQAM
The Panthers continue their two game Pennsylvania road trip tonight in Pittsburgh. The Pens are on a hot streak right now. They’re 8-2-0 in their last ten and though they are six points behind their Atlantic Division rival New York Rangers, they could challenge them for the Eastern Conference lead. And all this without Kris Letang and some guy called Sidney Crosby, who may be returning next week. The Panthers are still first in the Southeast Division, thanks to the Vancouver Canucks, who beat the Winnipeg Jets last night. The Capitals are back within two as well thanks to their overtime victory over the Lightning last night. The Jets play in Calgary tonight, while the rest of the division has the night off.
More from our Pittsburgh cohorts at PensBurgh.
Panthers vs Penguins coverage at SB Nation.
SB Nation Preview.
LBC Game Thread will open 30 minutes prior to puck drop.
News and Notes
Last meeting
Evgeni Malkin had the game winner and Marc-Andre Fleury the win in late January as the Penguins beat the Panthers 4-1 in Sunrise.
Last game
The Panthers were shut out by the Flyers 5-0 on Thursday night.
Lineup
There were no announced lineup changes after today’s optional skate, but there’s a possibility that one or all of scratched forwards John Madden and Marco Sturm or scratched defenseman Tyson Strachan could play tonight.
Injuries
- F Scottie Upshall (core), 2/1, 6 to 8 weeks
- D Dmitry Kulikov (knee), 1/21, 6 to 8 weeks
- F Matt Bradley (concussion), 2/19, indefinitely
Possible Scratches
- F Kris Versteeg (lower body)
- F John Madden (healthy)
- F Marco Sturm (healthy)
- D Tyson Strachan (healthy)
Starting goaltenders:
Marc-Andre Fleury is the announced starter for the Penguins, while Jose Theodore is the expected starter for the Panthers.
Lines
Forwards
- Bergenheim-Weiss-Samuelsson
- Fleischmann-Matthias-Wolski
- Kopecky-Goc-Smithson
- Barch-Santorelli-Skille
Defense
- Campbell-Garrison
- Gudbranson-Jovanovski
- Weaver-Ellerby