The Pittsburgh Penguins will conclude their season series against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night in Tampa.
The two teams have split the previous two meetings, with the Penguins winning 4-3 on Dec. 4 and the Lightning winning 2-1 in a shootout on Jan. 13. Both games have been fantastic to watch, and Thursday’s game should be no different.
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The Penguins are 8-4-2 in their last 14 games against the Lightning, but they might be getting an upset Bolts team since they lost 4-1 to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. The Bolts are also trying to clinch a playoff spot on Thursday.
Nikita Kucherov was named the NHL’s First Star of March after finishing the month with nine goals and 26 points in 14 games. He compiled six multi-point games in March and has 40 goals and 121 points in 68 games this season. He has a great shot of winning the Hart Trophy this year.
Former Penguin Jake Guentzel has fit like a glove with the Bolts, compiling 36 goals and 81 points in 74 games this year. He plays a lot with Kucherov and Brayden Point, the latter of whom has 17 goals and 46 points in 56 games.
Darren Raddysh has also been great for the Lightning this season, racking up 20 goals and 66 points in 67 games as a defenseman. He’s set to be a free agent after this season and will get a huge pay raise from the $975,000 salary he earned this year.
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Don’t forget about Anthony Cirelli, either. The two-way center has 20 goals and 49 points in 66 games.
Andrei Vasilevskiy will start in goal for the Lightning, and he has been his usual self this year with 22.2 goals saved above expected and a .912 save percentage.
The Penguins will get Bryan Rust back from his brief one-game absence, meaning Avery Hayes will come out of the lineup.
Here’s a look at the projected lines and pairings:
Forwards
Chinakhov-Crosby-Rust
Novak-Kindel-Malkin
Mantha-Rakell-Brazeau
Soderblom-Dewar-Acciari
Defensive pairs
Wotherspoon-Karlsson
Girard-Letang
Shea-Clifton
Stuart Skinner will start in goal for the Penguins after playing great against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday.
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Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET on SportsNet Pittsburgh. Fans can also listen to the game on 105.9 ‘The X.’
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