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April 4, 2026
NHL: Pittsburgh Penguins at Florida Panthers
Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The Florida Panthers bring their bruised and battered team to Pittsburgh for the first of a back-to-back doubleheader against the Penguins with little more than pride on the line and the opportunity to mess things up.

Paul Maurice has made it clear his team is trying to play things straight when it comes to team in the playoff race.

To beat the Panthers, you’re going to have to earn it.

Take the Penguins.

Pittsburgh is a surprising playoff team right now, coming into the Florida doubleheader holding second place in the Metropolitan Division.


The Panthers do not want to lay down. That would not be fair to the teams trying to catch the Penguins.

So, despite having an injury list which hovers in the double figures, the Panthers will give the Penguins their best.

Pittsburgh has been on the short-end of spoiler matches before.

In 2023, the Panthers backed into the playoffs on the penultimate night of the season when the Penguins were upset at home by the last-place Chicago Blackhawks — a team that had been embarrassed at home the night before.

With that loss, Pittsburgh was shockingly mathematically eliminated and the Panthers clinched a postseason spot watching from the comforts of home.

At the same 76-game mark of the 2022-23 season they trailed Florida by a single point for the final spot with a game in hand.

The Penguins went into a bit of a tailspin after that.

Over the next two seasons, despite having a star-studded lineup, the Penguins spiraled. It cost longtime coach Mike Sullivan his job.

Sullivan, who took over the Rangers and won gold with Team USA, was replaced by Dan Muse.

Even though this is Muse’s first NHL head coaching assignment, he has appeared to have righted some of the wrongs of the past three seasons.

With 92 points and six games left, the Penguins are in a real nice spot.

Yet they cannot afford to mess around.

On Thursday, Pittsburgh lost 6-3 in Tampa. That gave the Islanders a great chance to close to within a point, only they lost 4-1 to the Flyers — who pulled within four points of the Penguins. Columbus is four points back as well.

So, while that looks like a lot, a misstep against the Panthers this weekend could be costly.

“We’re going to have to turn the page quick,’’ Muse said after the loss in Tampa. “There’s not going to be any easy games. Every game.

“Every day is going to have a new challenge. None of them are going to be easy this time of year. Based on this game there’s some lessons we absolutely have to take away and move forward with. They made it difficult I do think we got away from things that have worked in times.’’

And seeing what Florida was able to do to Ottawa and Boston the past two games means the Penguins will not take the Panthers lightly even if they, like the Bruins, do not recognize a lot of the names in the lineup.

On Thursday, the Panthers beat the Bruins 2-1 despite having just two defensemen who played on Opening Night in Seth Jones and Gus Forsling.

Tobias Bjornfot and Mikulas Hovorka had just arrived from Charlotte to replace Dmitry Kulikov and Aaron Ekblad who were injured against Ottawa.

Donovan Sebrango and Mike Benning have been playing well as replacements for Niko Mikkola and Uvis Balinskis.

Maurice called the situation a “silver lining” for his defensive replacement corps.

“They’re going to get minutes in the NHL that they otherwise wouldn’t get,” Maurice said, “and it truly helps them in their development.”

The Panthers’ man-games lost to injury is now up to 461. 

Kulikov may return against Pittsburgh, but it looks like Ekblad’s season is over because of a broken finger sustained after blocking a shot.

Despite injuries to the ageless Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the two maintain a point a game pace while in the lineup.

Malkin just returned to the lineup after missing four games to injury. Earlier in the year he was sidelined for a month due to an upper body injury. He also served a five-game suspension for a slash on Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin.

Veteran Bryan Rust is quietly having another outstanding season. Anthony Mantha is on a career season at 30-29-59. He was a bargain free agency signing after an injury riddled season in Calgary.

Richard Rakell, who also missed substantial time to hand surgery earlier in the season, is on a hot streak with seven goals in his last six games.

Erik Karlsson is enjoying his best offensive production in three seasons as a Penguin.

The deadline deal which brought Sam Girard in from Colorado beefed up the defensive capabilities although Girard was sidelined six games due to injury.

The venerable Kris Letang missed four weeks earlier due to a broken foot but is back in the lineup.

A weakness has been goaltending. With veteran Tristan Jerry struggling, he was shipped off to Edmonton for Stuart Skinner who was also in need of a change in scenery.

Skinner’s 2.90/.888 numbers are not much different from his Edmonton stats this year and below Jarry’s stats prior to leaving Pittsburgh.

Arturs Silovs, acquired in the off-season from Vancouver, has played the most games on the net but his numbers remain below 3.00/.900.

At last count Pittsburgh had seven players out with injuries, but the top performers were back in action. For the season they lost 336 games to injury. Not even close to Florida’s misfortunes.

As a sidelight to tonight’s matchup, we will not see brothers Caleb and Seth Jones play against each other.

Seth’s younger brother has been out since October due to a series of injuries. He has also been suspended 20 games after testing positive for a performance enhancing substance. Caleb Jones has attributed that tainted material during his exosome therapy.

Caleb Jones had surgery on his shoulder which will keep him out until next season.

ON DECK: GAME No. 76
FLORIDA PANTHERS at PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
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