The Florida Panthers will face the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday at 5 p.m. ET, with the Panthers carrying a 37-35-3 record against the Penguins’ 38-22-16 mark. The Panthers enter the matchup with 11 players on the injured list, including key contributors Aaron Ekblad, Sam Reinhart, and Aleksander Barkov. The game will be broadcast on SN-PIT and SCRIPPS networks.
Florida coach Paul Maurice indicated that some injured players could return soon, stating that “Kulikov and Schwindt each could return during the weekend back-to-back at Pittsburgh.” The Panthers are coming off a 2-1 home victory against the Boston Bruins, where Sam Bennett and Mackie Samoskevich each scored one goal. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 28 shots with a .966 save percentage in that victory.
The Panthers have struggled on the road recently, losing three straight road games before their home win against Boston. Pittsburgh suffered a 6-3 defeat against the Tampa Bay Lightning in their most recent game, with Yegor Chinakhov recording two goals and Rickard Rakell scoring the other goal for the Penguins. The Penguins had previously defeated the Detroit Red Wings 5-1 before the Tampa Bay loss.
Pittsburgh will be without defenseman Caleb Jones for the remainder of the season after he underwent surgery on his right shoulder. Jones last played on October 23 and is expected to recover in time for the start of next season. The Penguins also have four other players on the injured list, including Kevin Hayes with an upper body injury and Filip Hallander with a blood clot.
The Panthers’ injury list includes significant players across all positions, with Aaron Ekblad sidelined with a hand injury, Dmitry Kulikov dealing with a broken nose, and Evan Rodrigues out with a finger injury. Forward Sam Reinhart is nursing a foot injury, while defenseman Niko Mikkola has a knee injury and Anton Lundell is dealing with ribs issues. Additional injured players include Uvis Balinskis with a fractured foot, Brad Marchand with a lower body injury, Cole Schwindt with a lower body injury, and Jonah Gadjovich with an upper body injury.
In their last head-to-head encounter, the Penguins defeated the Panthers 5-3 at Amerant Bank Arena. Over the past 10 meetings between these teams, the Panthers have won six games while the Penguins have claimed four victories. The Panthers have averaged 2.6 goals from 24.1 shots on goal over their last 10 games, with a 12.5% powerplay efficiency.
Matthew Tkachuk leads the Panthers in scoring over the last 10 games with 11 points, including 5 goals and 6 assists. Carter Verhaeghe has contributed 7 points with 4 goals and 3 assists during the same span. For Pittsburgh, Erik Karlsson tops the scoring with 14 points from 7 goals and 7 assists, while Rickard Rakell has registered 13 points with 8 goals and 5 assists.
The Panthers will start Sergei Bobrovsky in goal, who has posted a 2.37 goals-against average with a .899 save percentage over the last 10 games. Pittsburgh is expected to counter with Stuart Skinner, who has a 3.79 goals-against average and .870 save percentage. The Panthers have allowed 3.4 goals from 29.8 shots while averaging 3.3 penalties per game with an 81.8% penalty-killing efficiency.
Both teams will look to improve their playoff positioning as the regular season continues, with the Panthers needing strong road performances to climb in the standings while dealing with their extensive injury list.