The Pittsburgh Penguins take on the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Benchmark International Arena. Here are the projected/expected lineups sourced from NHL.com staff writers, independent correspondents, and others.
PENGUINS (13-7-5) at LIGHTNING (16-8-2)
7 p.m. ET; The Spot, SN-PIT, TVAS
Penguins projected lineup
Kevin Hayes — Sidney Crosby — Bryan Rust
Tommy Novak — Evgeni Malkin — Anthony Mantha
Rutger McGroarty — Ben Kindel — Ville Koivunen
Connor Dewar — Blake Lizotte — Bokondji Imama
Ryan Shea — Kris Letang
Parker Wotherspoon — Erik Karlsson
Ryan Graves — Connor Clifton
Tristan Jarry
Arturs Silovs
Scratched: Joona Koppanen, Mathew Dumba
Injured: Rickard Rakell (hand), Caleb Jones (lower body), Justin Brazeau (upper body), Noel Acciari (upper body), Filip Hallander (blood clot)
Status report
The Penguins held an optional morning skate Thursday. ..Rakell, a forward, will be out for at least three more weeks.
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Lightning projected lineup
Brandon Hagel — Anthony Cirelli — Nikita Kucherov
Jake Guentzel — Nick Paul — Oliver Bjorkstrand
Zemgus Girgensons — Yanni Gourde — Pontus Holmberg
Dominic James — Curtis Douglas — Gage Goncalves
J.J. Moser — Darren Raddysh
Charle-Edouard D’Astous — Emil Lilleberg
Declan Carlile — Max Crozier
Jonas Johansson
Brandon Halverson
Scratched: Jack Finley, Steven Santini
Injured: Brayden Point (undisclosed), Ryan McDonagh (undisclosed), Victor Hedman (undisclosed), Erik Cernak (undisclosed), Andrei Vasilevskiy (undisclosed)
Status report
Vasilevskiy will not dress; Lightning coach Jon Cooper said he expects the goalie to play against the New York Islanders on Saturday. … Halverson was recalled from Syracuse of the American Hockey League on Thursday and will back up Johansson. … Crozier will enter the lineup for the first time since Nov. 16.
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