After blowing a two-goal lead to the Florida Panthers en route to a 4-3 shootout loss Sunday, the Pittsburgh Penguins will look to rebound against the other team residing in the sunshine state.

On Tuesday, the Penguins will take on ex-Penguin Jake Guentzel and the Tampa Bay Lightning, who took the first two games of their season series. And Pittsburgh's captain has a chance to make NHL history.

Captain Sidney Crosby is just two points shy of Wayne Gretzky's point-per-game seasons record, which is currently set at 19. Clinching the record at 20 seems perfect for Crosby, who is, arguably, the most consistently dominant player in NHL history.

"It's so impressive to be doing it for, what, 20 times?" forward Rickard Rakell said. "He's one of the best to have ever played this game, so... he shows why. I mean, it's such a hard game, and for him to do it every year, it's pretty nuts."

While Crosby chases the NHL record books, the Penguins will be chasing two points, as they are now in desperation mode in terms of the NHL playoff picture. They currently sit six points behind the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, and Montreal has three games in hand. 

They are aware of the hill that they would need to climb, as they only have 10 games remaining. But they're going to fight for every inch of ice they can get.

And that's always tough against a goaltender like Andrei Vasilevskiy, who has been one of the best goaltenders in hockey for the last decade.

"He's been, obviously, one of the elite goaltenders in the league ever since [2016]," head coach Mike Sullivan said. "He's one of the premiere goaltenders in the league. The workload that he's been able to endure season-in and season-out... these guys have played a lot of hockey. They've gone deep into the playoffs, they've had a number of playoff runs, and he's played hard hockey. In a lot of ways, there aren't a lot of goaltenders that carry the workload he carries in today's game."

Vasilevskiy will be opposed by Tristan Jarry, who is red-hot for the Penguins. Jarry has a .924 save percentage in his six starts since returning to the Penguins from the AHL on Mar. 3, and - including Tuesday's game - will have started seven of the last eight for Pittsburgh.

As for the lineup, forward Evgeni Malkin will miss Tuesday's game with an upper-body injury. Forward Emil Bemstrom will slot back in.

Here are the lines and pairings for the game, which features Erik Karlsson on the left side next to Conor Timmins on the second defensive pairing:

Tonight's lineup in Tampa.

Evgeni Malkin (upper body) will not play tonight. pic.twitter.com/NgzadEILjJ

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 25, 2025

Tampa Bay currently occupies the third spot in the Atlantic Division. They have lost two consecutive games and are 5-4-1 in their last 10 games. 

Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov has two goals and six points in the last five games.

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For years, Jakob Chychrun has been linked to the Los Angeles Kings in some form or fashion. 

His father, Jeff, played 26 games for the Kings in 1991-92. Years later, when Jakob became a pro, his name kept popping up as a potential trade target for Los Angeles. The connection was never more intense than in the Winter and Spring of 2023 when a trade between LA and Arizona seemed imminent. 

Sounding like a Jakob Chychrun @LAKings@ArizonaCoyotes trade centered around 2021 8th overall pick Brandt Clarke. #RealKyperandBourne

— Nick Kypreos (@RealKyper) February 12, 2023

Lots of smoke connecting #LAKings with Jakob Chychrun, but no confirmed fire yet. And so, we wait.@DailyFaceoff

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) February 12, 2023

It did not come to fruition, however. With the hole on the left side of their defense still unfilled, the Kings pivoted to the Columbus Blue Jackets and Vladislav Gavrikov.

We've acquired defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov and goaltender Joonas Korpisalo from the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for goaltender Jonathan Quick, a conditional first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, and a third-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.#GoKingsGo

— LA Kings (@LAKings) March 1, 2023

Fast forward to today…

Chychrun signed an eight-year, $72 million contract with the Washington Capitals that begins next season and has an average annual value of $9 million. And while this may officially close the door on any potential union with the Kings, it doesn’t necessarily mean that Chychrun has stopped impacting the Kings. Like him, Gavrikov is seeking a new deal and the Kings would prefer to get him signed before he becomes an unrestricted free agent. 

We’ve previously speculated on what retaining Gavrikov long-term may cost the Kings, but with Chychrun signing a massive deal, the market for defensemen may have been reset. 

Some underlying numbers would have given us a little pause at our projection and this #MaxTerm deal is a little higher than we projected. Generally, the Capitals should expect Chychrun to be a solid top-4D offensive producer with iffy-to-average defensive impacts. #ALLCAPShttps://t.co/Vl9ylgAp3Ppic.twitter.com/ec45ZGK2B8

— AFP Analytics (@AFPAnalytics) March 25, 2025

To clarify, Gavrikov and Chychrun are far from direct comparables. Chychrun is 3 years younger and is on pace to eclipse the 20-goal and 50-point marks, both potential career highs. He is also a fixture on the Capitals’ power play and can be deployed in any situation.

Gavrikov, on the other hand, is an elite defender that will likely top out at 30 points. NHL GM’s will always put a premium on offensive production, but in Gavrikov’s case, his value to the Kings is more significant than his value around the league.

Gavrikov the #1 defenceman seems to be going very well early on. https://t.co/rcOTFri0QPpic.twitter.com/HWOGp9tzag

— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) October 27, 2024

Vladislav Gavrikov from the Los Angeles Kings has been amazing this season. But it's a contract year for him. Maybe it's a fluke? I believe there will be a team that will overpay him in the off-season if he plays at this level all season. pic.twitter.com/6OheRcQuI9

— Rono (@RonoAnalyst) January 7, 2025

According to AFP Analytics, Gavrikov’s projected contract is 5 years, $5.4 million. For that to be a reality, Gavrikov would have to take a pay cut. Not likely. It stands to reason that he would be looking for at least a $1 million raise on the $5.8 million he is currently making. Add to that the projected $7.5 million increase in the NHL’s salary cap ceiling, and the Kings may be looking at long-term deal for Gavrikov with an AAV exceeding $7 million.

That may sound rich, but the reality for the LA Kings is that they need to re-sign Gavrikov. There are no viable internal options to replace him, and with Chychrun off the board, most external options would be a downgrade. The bigger challenge for the Kings will be the length of the contract, as players of Gavrikov’s ilk do not historically age well.  

The Ottawa Senators will continue their pursuit of an Eastern Conference playoff spot on Tuesday night in Buffalo, facing a Sabres team that's given them nothing but trouble this season.

Barring a miracle finish, the Sabres are wobbling toward an NHL record 14th consecutive season without making the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but they could have fooled Ottawa. Buffalo has had the Senators' number this season, defeating them 5-1 in November and 4-0 in January.

The Sens have had a couple of days off, but none of the Eastern wild-card hopefuls in the gooey clump behind them in the standings was able to cut into their lead. As they were after Saturday’s 3-2 win in New Jersey, the Senators are five points above the current playoff cut line in the East. The Montreal Canadiens are the second wild card, four points behind Ottawa.

Tuesday will be a homecoming for Sens centre Dylan Cozens, playing in Buffalo for the first time since being traded to the Senators on deadline day. Cozens told the media he expected it will be "a little weird," but he’s trying to treat it as just another game.

The Workhorse from Whitehorse was traded with defenceman Dennis Gilbert and a 2026 second-round draft pick for Josh Norris and Jacob Bernard-Docker. Bernard-Docker waited 15 days before finally making his Sabre debut on Saturday in Minnesota. He then posted two assists on Sunday, a 5-3 victory over the Winnipeg Jets, marking the first multi-point game of JBD's NHL career.

As for Norris, he’s missed the last five Buffalo games due to an undisclosed injury and will be out again on Tuesday against his former team. His homecoming, if they can put him back together by then, could come on April 1st when the Sabres visit Ottawa.

Norris’ injury after just three games as a Sabre has only served to amplify the immediate concerns Buffalo fans had about the trade. According to TSN1200, Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff confirmed to the media on Tuesday that Norris brought this injury with him from Ottawa.

That won't do much to tone down the grumbling.

Acquiring a long-term, expensive player who has been as injury-prone as any player in the NHL would usually come with the belief/hope that the player’s injury troubles are behind him. In this case, the Sabres appear to have taken on Norris, knowing he wasn’t healthy at the time of the trade.

On the bright side, Norris says he’s starting to feel better, though he couldn’t put a timeline on a return date.

"It’s slow progress, but yeah, feeling better, and hopefully I’ll be back soon," Norris told the media on Tuesday. "It’s just something I’ve been dealing with for a little while this year, and I kind of re-aggravated it. So, I’m just being smart about it."

Buffalo GM Kevyn Adams clearly made this deal for next season and beyond. With just 13 games left in a lost season, they'd be well served to shut Norris down until the fall.

The Senators held an optional game day skate on Tuesday morning, and as per TSN 1200, only a few players participated: goalie Linus Ullmark, who will back up Anton Forsberg on Tuesday night; Artem Zub; Dennis Gilbert; Nick Jensen; and Brady Tkachuk.

Jensen and Tkachuk have both been dealing with nagging injuries for some time. Jensen hasn’t played since March 13th against the Boston Bruins, while Tkachuk played on Saturday in New Jersey. However, his ice time was well below his season average, and he was held out of practice on Monday.

Forsberg will start against James Reimer, who was fantastic on Sunday against the Jets. Optimus Reim has also given the Senators fits over the years with a record of 17-6-4 and a .924 save percentage.

Senators Projected Lineup (NHL.com)

• Brady Tkachuk – Tim Stutzle – Fabian Zetterlund
• David Perron – Dylan Cozens – Drake Batherson
• Ridly Greig – Shane Pinto – Claude Giroux
• Matthew Highmore – Adam Gaudette – Michael Amadio

Defence

• Jake Sanderson – Travis Hamonic
• Thomas Chabot – Artem Zub
• Tyler Kleven – Nikolas Matinpalo

Goalies

• Anton Forsberg
• Linus Ullmark

Scratched

• Dennis Gilbert

Injured

• Nick Cousins (knee)
• Nick Jensen (lower body)

Sabres Projected Lineup

• Zach Benson – Jiri Kulich – Tage Thompson
• JJ Peterka – Ryan McLeod – Jack Quinn
• Jason Zucker – Peyton Krebs – Alex Tuch
• Beck Malenstyn – Tyson Kozak – Isak Rosen

Defence

• Mattias Samuelsson – Rasmus Dahlin
• Bowen Byram – Connor Clifton
• Owen Power – Jacob Bernard-Docker

Goalies

• James Reimer
• Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Scratched

• Jacob Bryson

Injured

• Jordan Greenway (lower body)
• Josh Norris (middle body)
• Sam Lafferty (groin

By Steve Warne
Site Editor at The Hockey News Ottawa

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