Pittsburgh @ Florida preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 5, 2019 ) Florida 2, Pittsburgh 3

The Florida Panthers are beginning to warm up with points in five straight games (2-0-3), and look to extend the streak before heading out on the road when they host the injury-depleted Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday. Brett Connolly scored his fourth goal in three games and rookie Samuel Montembeault stopped four shots in overtime as the Panthers earned a 3-2 shootout victory Saturday at Nashville, despite losing three of their top scorers during the contest.

“We didn’t play our best throughout some of the periods of the game, but we stuck with it,” Connolly told reporters of his team, which leaves for a four-game trip after Tuesday. “We knew we were going to have to grind it out (Saturday), and we did. We stuck with it and we got the two points. We need points right now.” Florida captain Aleksander Barkov (upper body), along with Jonathan Huberdeau and Evgenii Dadonov (undisclosed), all left Saturday’s game but were on the ice for practice Tuesday while Vincent Trocheck (undisclosed) missed the workout and is questionable. Pittsburgh key forwards Evgenii Malkin (leg) and Alex Galchenyuk (lower body) have begun skating while defenseman Brian Dumoulin (lower body) is likely out after missing Saturday’s 3-0 loss to Vegas - the Penguins' first loss in six games. “I give our players a lot of credit,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan told reporters. “We’re competing hard out there. It’s a one-goal hockey game. We had a fair amount of chances. We couldn’t seem to find a way to put it in the net.”

TV: 7 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, FS Florida

ABOUT THE PENGUINS (6-3-0): Top-nine forwards Bryan Rust (hand) and Nick Bjugstad (lower body) practiced Monday but are likely a few games away, while unheralded rookies such as Sam Lafferty (three goals, five points, plus-5 rating) continue to step up. Captain Sidney Crosby has been held off the scoresheet the last two games despite leading the team with 12 points - two better than defenseman Kris Letang (team-high 34 shots). Goalie Matt Murray (5-2-0, .914 save percentage), who was rested Saturday in favor of backup Tristan Jarry, has won four straight decisions and allowed a total of nine goals in that stretch.

ABOUT THE PANTHERS (3-2-3): Huberdeau saw his six-game point streak come to an end Saturday, but shares the team lead with Mike Hoffman (team-high five goals) at eight - one more than Connolly and Dadonov. Brian Boyle, who scored 18 goals in 73 games when splitting time with New Jersey and Nashville last season, was signed to a one-year deal Sunday to add veteran depth up front and on the power play. Sergei Bobrovsky’s numbers are not impressive (4.07 goals-against average, .872 SP), but the veteran goalie earned at least a point in his last three starts (1-0-2) before being rested Saturday.

OVERTIME

1. Pittsburgh F Jake Guentzel (five goals) had a seven-game point streak before being held to one shot Saturday.

2. Barkov boasts a team-high six assists, but has been held without a goal and to 17 shots after scoring a career-high 35 last season.

3. The Panthers led the league with 37.9 shots per game entering Monday while the Penguins allow the fourth-fewest (29.2).

PREDICTION: Panthers 4, Penguins 3