The Pittsburgh Penguins will face off against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers on Tuesday at PPG Paints Arena in search of their fourth straight win.
But they know it won’t come easy.
The Penguins have not had success against last season’s playoff teams so far this season, as they are 3-9-2 in those games. But they are also riding a three-game win streak, and two of those wins have come against last season’s playoff teams in Vancouver and Boston, while the victory over Calgary on Saturday marked a win against a team currently in playoff position.
They know it won’t be easy, but they feel good about the way they’re playing right now.
“I think we feel pretty good about our game,” forward Anthony Beauvillier said after Saturday’s win. “We feel like we can go up against anybody at this point in the season right now. It will be a good challenge for us. It doesn’t get any easier, and it won’t get any easier down the stretch, so we just see it as a good challenge, and we’ll go from there.”
Prior to Tuesday’s game, the Penguins activated forward Cody Glass from injured reserve and optioned defenseman Jack St. Ivany to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Head coach Mike Sullivan still classified Glass’s status as “day-to-day,” and he will not be in the lineup against Florida on Tuesday. Goaltender Tristan Jarry – who is coming off his three best performances of the season – will get the start in goal.
Here are the lines and pairings for Tuesday’s matchup, which are the same lines and pairings they used Saturday against Calgary:
Florida has won three straight games as well, and they are currently second in the Atlantic division at 15-9-1 behind only Toronto. They are fifth overall in the Eastern Conference with 31 points. Sam Reinhart is having another outstanding campaign, as he leads the Panthers in scoring this season with 34 points in 25 games – and he also leads the NHL in goals with 18.
