Game Preview: 04.02.26 at Tampa Bay Lightning

The Penguins hit the road to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena. Puck drop is set for 7 PM.

This game will be available to watch on SportsNet Pittsburgh. Fans can listen to the game on 105.9 The X and on the Penguins app.

Team Records: PIT (36-21-16), TBL (46-22-6)

Pittsburgh has points in nine of its last 12 games against Tampa Bay (7-3-2). Going back further, the Penguins have points in 10 of their last 14 games against the Lightning (8-4-2). The Penguins are 5-2-0 in their last seven visits to Benchmark International Arena dating back to Oct. 23, 2019. Pittsburgh has points in five-consecutive road games (4-0-1) and have points in 13 of their last 15 road games overall (9-2-4).

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Game Notes

QUICK HITS

Anthony Mantha has 21 points (8G-13A) in 30 career games against the Lightning and is a plus-11. His 21 points are the most he’s accumulated versus one opponent.

On Tuesday, Rickard Rakell hit the 20-goal plateau for the seventh time in his career. In doing so, he became the 15th Swedish-born player in NHL history with seven or more 20-goal campaigns and joined Mika Zibanejad (11), Filip Forsberg (10) and Gabriel Landeskog (9) as the only active Swedes to accomplish this feat. 

Goaltender Arturs Silovs is winless (0-1-1) in two starts versus Tampa Bay but has only allowed four goals total with a 1.95 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage. 

Defenseman Kris Letang has four points (4A) over his last five games. His assist on Tuesday was the 625th of his career, surpassing Bobby Orr (BOS - 624) for the seventh-most assists by a defenseman with one franchise in NHL history. 

Egor Chinakhov has 14 points (5G-9A) over his last 14 games and has picked up 28 points (15G-13A) in 37 games since joining the Penguins. Since his Penguins debut on Jan. 1, only Rickard Rakell (16) has more goals on the team than him.

A-MUSE-ING

Head Coach Dan Muse has the Penguins playing some of the most consistent hockey in the league in his first season in the NHL. Under Muse’s guidance, the Penguins have already surpassed last season's win total, and the team has seen massive year-over-year improvement in multiple categories.

FRANCHISE ICON

Captain Sidney Crosby enters tomorrow's game with points in six of his last seven games played (1G-7A). Crosby enters tomorrow's game one point shy of tying Steve Yzerman for the seventh-most points in NHL history and second-most points with one franchise in all-time.

POINT MACHINE

Sidney Crosby leads the Penguins with 67 points (28G-39A) in 63 games. Crosby, who can play in a maximum of 70 games this season, is three points shy of ensuring he will average a point per game or better for an NHL-record 21st season.

RUST 500

Forward Bryan Rust enters tomorrow's game with points in 15 of his last 17 games (8G-13A) and is just two points shy of becoming the 11th player in franchise history to reach 500 points.

MANTHA’S CAREER YEAR

Forward Anthony Mantha enters tomorrow's game with points in nine of his last 12 games (9G-4A) and has set career highs across the board in goals (30), assists (28) and points (58). During the Sidney Crosby Era (2005-Present), only two players on Pittsburgh have scored more goals than Mantha in their first season with the team.

POINT STREAKIN’ 

Rickard Rakell has points in 13 of his last 14 games (9G-9A) and is currently on a five-game point streak (6G-2A). Only one player have a longer active point streak in the NHL.

SILKY SWEDE

Erik Karlsson has 25 points (9G-16A) in the last 18 games. He leads all defensemen in the NHL in points in that span.

MALKIN 1,400

Forward Evgeni Malkin enters tomorrow's game one point shy of 1,400 in his career. Malkin is looking to join Sidney Crosby (1,754) and Mario Lemieux (1,723) as the only players in franchise history to notch 1,400 points with the team, and he would also become just the 23rd player in NHL history to accomplish this feat.

DIRTY THIRTY

Sidney Crosby comes into tomorrow's game two goals shy of reaching the 30-goal mark for the 14th time in his career and the fifth-consecutive season. Only six players in NHL history have more 30-goal seasons than him currently and only Alex Ovechkin has more among active players (20).

MARCH MADNESS

Erik Karlsson was one of the NHL’s hottest players in the month of March, picking up 24 points (9G-15A) in just 17 games. During March, only Nikita Kucherov (26) has picked up more points than Karlsson, and his 24 points are the most by a Penguins blueliner in a calendar month since Paul Coffey’s franchise record of 28 points in February 1990. Karlsson is just the fourth Penguins defenseman in franchise history to record 20 or more points in a month.

SUPER ROOKIE

Ben Kindel enters tomorrow's game with 34 points (17G-17A) and 17 goals on the season, which ranks tied for fourth among NHL rookies. Four of his 17 goals have been game-winning tallies, and he’s one game-winning goal shy of the NHL single-season record for an 18 year old.

BLUE LINE BLITZ

Defenseman Kris Letang has 44 points (6G-38A) in 51 career games versus Tampa Bay. He has more points against the Lightning than any other non-Metropolitan Division team. Letang and teammate Erik Karlsson are third and fourth in NHL history for points by a defenseman against the Lightning, respectively.

LIGHTNING STRIKES

Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have both found success in their careers against the Lightning. Crosby (54GP, 24G-44A) and Malkin (50GP, 32G-36A) rank fifth and sixth in the NHL in scoring against Tampa Bay in NHL history.