Clash of Titans: Can the Penguins Dethrone Lightning in Electric Showdown on 4/2?
Who: Pittsburgh Penguins (38-21-16, 92 points, 2nd place Metropolitan Division) @ Tampa Bay Lightning (46-22-6, 98 points, 2nd place Atlantic Division)
When: 7:00 p.m. eastern
How to Watch: Locally broadcast on Sportsnet Pittsburgh and The Spot, streaming on ESPN+
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Pens’ Path Ahead: The March of the Penguins concludes literally (though perhaps not figuratively) tonight with the team wrapping up their franchise record of 17 games in a calendar month. The Pens are 7-6-3 and managed to hold on against a brutal schedule while weathering some key absences. There’s another flurry of weekend games, the Florida Panthers play in PPG Paints both Saturday (5:00pm start) and Sunday (3:00pm start) and then Pittsburgh gets their first stretch of three days without games next Mon-Wed since early January (not counting the Olympic break). The Pens then pick back up a week from tonight on the road in New Jersey.
Opponent Track: Tampa was 6-0-2 in last eight prior to Tuesday home game against Montreal, where the Lightning lost 4-1. Tampa has a big game coming up on Saturday against the hard-charging Bruins.
Season Series: The Penguins always seem to play Tampa well, despite the difference in team strengths in the last few years. Pittsburgh is 8-4-2 overall since the 2021-22 season against the Lightning, including a 1-0-1 record this season. The Pens blew a 3-0 lead but still pulled off a regulation 4-3 win over Tampa courtesy Evgeni Malkin’s late GWG and three-point night back on December 4th. In the second meeting, Malkin scored late in the third period on January 13th to tie the game 1-1, though Tampa would go onto win in the shootout.
Hidden Stat: As referenced above, Malkin has 3G+1A in the two games against the Lightning this season. He’s got 12 goals in the other 48 non-Tampa games he’s played this season.
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