PANTHERS (37-35-3) at PENGUINS (38-22-16)
5 p.m. ET; SN-PIT, SCRIPPS
Panthers projected lineup
Carter Verhaeghe -- Sam Bennett -- Matthew Tkachuk
Mackie Samoskevich -- Eetu Luostarinen -- A.J. Greer
Noah Gregor -- Tomas Nosek -- Jesper Boqvist
Nolan Foote -- Luke Kunin -- Vinnie Hinostroza
Gustav Forsling -- Seth Jones
Donovan Sebrango -- Mike Benning
Tobias Bjornfot -- Mikulas Hovorka
Sergei Bobrovsky
Daniil Tarasov
Scratched: Cole Reinhardt
Injured: Aaron Ekblad (hand), Dmitry Kulikov (broken nose), Evan Rodrigues (finger), Sam Reinhart (foot), Niko Mikkola (knee), Anton Lundell (ribs), Uvis Balinskis (fractured foot), Brad Marchand (lower body), Cole Schwindt (lower body), Aleksander Barkov (knee), Jonah Gadjovich (upper body)
Penguins projected lineup
Egor Chinakhov -- Sidney Crosby -- Bryan Rust
Tommy Novak -- Ben Kindel -- Evgeni Malkin
Anthony Mantha -- Rikard Rakell -- Justin Brazeau
Elmer Soderblom -- Connor Dewar -- Noel Acciari
Parker Wotherspoon -- Erik Karlsson
Samuel Girard -- Kris Letang
Ryan Shea -- Connor Clifton
Arturs Silovs
Stuart Skinner
Scratched: Ilya Solovyov, Ryan Graves, Avery Hayes
Injured: Kevin Hayes (upper body), Filip Hallander (blood clot), Blake Lizotte (upper body), Jack St. Ivany (upper body)
Status report
Kulikov and Schwindt each could return during the weekend back-to-back at Pittsburgh, Florida coach Paul Maurice said prior to a 2-1 win against the Boston Bruins on Thursday. Kulikov, a defenseman, missed the game Thursday; Schwindt, a forward, has been out since Feb. 26. ... Rust returned in a 6-3 loss at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday after being a late scratch for a 5-1 win against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday. ... Penguins defenseman Caleb Jones, who last played Oct. 23, will be out the remainder of the season after having surgery on his right shoulder; he expected to recover in time for the start of next season.
