Lightning at Penguins preview

LIGHTNING (12-5-1) at PENGUINS (7-6-3)
7 p.m. ET; TVAS, ATTSN-PT, SUN, NHL.TV

Crosby, Pittsburgh's first-line center, is day to day with what Penguins coach Mike Sullivan confirmed is not a concussion. He skated on his own before morning skate Thursday, but did not join the optional skate.
Sullivan said Crosby likely would miss a week.
Pittsburgh, 1-5-1 in its past seven games, has scored two goals or fewer in five of its past six games.
Penguins goalie Matt Murray will start after backing up Casey DeSmith the past three games.
Murray will face Lightning goalie Louis Domingue, starting in place of Andrei Vasilevskiy, out indefinitely with an undisclosed injury. Vasilevskiy was 6-2-0 with a 2.38 goals-against average and one shutout in his past eight starts.
The Lightning have lost their past two games after winning their previous four.

Players to watch

Lightning forward Yanni Gourde has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past six games.
Penguins center Evgeni Malkin has one assist in his past five games after having 17 points (six goals, 11 assists) in a nine-game point streak.

They said it

"I'm just focusing on what's in front of me tonight. Pretty big task, a good team, that's all I'm really focusing on right now." -- Lightning goalie Louis Domingue, who will start in place of injured Andrei Vasilevskiy
"We're going to have to [replace Crosby] by committee at this point. We've got a couple of our centers that are out. It's going to be a great opportunity for others to step up and play a more significant role, more significant minutes." -- Penguins coach Mike Sullivan

Lightning projected lineup

J.T. Miller -- Steven Stamkos -- Nikita Kucherov
Yanni Gourde -- Brayden Point -- Tyler Johnson
Alex Killorn -- Anthony Cirelli -- Mathieu Joseph
Adam Erne -- Cedric Paquette -- Ryan Callahan
Dan Girardi -- Victor Hedman
Ryan McDonagh -- Slater Koekkoek
Braydon Coburn -- Mikhail Sergachev
Louis Domingue
Edward Pasquale
Scratched: Danick Martel, Erik Cernak
Injured: Andrei Vasilevskiy (undisclosed), Ondrej Palat (lower body), Anton Stralman (upper body)

Penguins projected lineup

Tanner Pearson -- Evgeni Malkin -- Patric Hornqvist
Jake Guentzel -- Riley Sheahan -- Phil Kessel
Dominik Simon -- Derek Grant -- Bryan Rust
Garrett Wilson -- Matt Cullen -- Zach Aston-Reese
Jack Johnson -- Kris Letang
Brian Dumoulin -- Chad Ruhwedel
Olli Maatta -- Jamie Oleksiak
Matt Murray
Casey DeSmith
Scratched: Juuso Riikola, Daniel Sprong
Injured: Sidney Crosby (upper body), Justin Schultz (left leg fracture), Derick Brassard (lower body)

Status report

The Lightning recalled Pasquale from Syracuse of the American Hockey League on Thursday. He will back up Domingue. ... Pearson could make his Penguins debut after being acquired in a trade with the Los Angeles Kings for forward Carl Hagelin on Wednesday.

Stat pack

Girardi and McDonagh each need one assist to reach 200 in the NHL. ... Kucherov needs two assists to reach 200 in the NHL. ... Letang is one assist from passing Syl Apps Jr. for sixth place on the Penguins all-time assists list with 350.