PITTSBURGH, PA - JANUARY 01: Kris Letang #58 of the Pittsburgh Penguins moves the puck in front of Michael Rasmussen #27 of the Detroit Red Wings at PPG PAINTS Arena on January 1, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images) | NHLI via Getty Images

Who: Detroit Red Wings (39-26-8, 86 points, 6th place Atlantic Division) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (37-21-16, 90 points, 2nd place Metropolitan Division)

When: 7:00 p.m. eastern

How to Watch: Locally broadcast on Sportsnet Pittsburgh and FanDuel Sportsnet Detroit, streaming on ESPN+

Pens’ Path Ahead: The Pens are headed to Tampa Bay to pay the Lightning on Thursday before returning home for a back-to-back set against the Florida Panthers on Saturday and Sunday.

Opponent Track: The Red Wings most recently let the Philadelphia Flyers back into the playoff race on Saturday, when Detroit started out the matchup by giving up four straight goals to Philadelphia. A late comeback push of three goals in three minutes wasn’t enough to overcome the early deficit, and now the Flyers are officially part of the late-season race for a Wild Card spot.

Season Series: The Penguins are looking to sweep the season series after claiming back-to-back wins (a 4-3 OT win and a 4-1 victory padded by two empty-netters) in a home-and-home set on Jan. 1 and Jan. 3.

Hidden Stat: Monday’s win over the New York Islanders marked the first time the Penguins have had 15 different players record a point in a game since March 27, 2022, per NHL Stats. That game, coincidentally, took place against the Red Wings.

Getting to know the Red Wings

Projected lines

FORWARDS

Emmitt Finnie – Dylan Larkin – Lucas Raymond

Alex DeBrincat – Andrew Copp – Patrick Kane

David Perron – J.T. Compher – Carter Mazur

James Van Riemsdyk – Marco Kasper – Mason Appleton

DEFENSEMEN

Simon Edvinsson / Moritz Seider

Ben Chiarot / Justin Faulk

Albert Johansson / Jacob Bernard-Docker

Goalies: John Gibson (starting), Cam Talbot

Potential scratches: Michael Rasmussen (injured), Travis Hamonic, Michal Postava

Injured Reserve: None

The Red Wings are mixing things up after Saturday’s loss to the Flyers. Here’s what the lines looked like during that game. The changes could be an effort to mix up a bottom six that struggled during Saturday’s loss to the Flyers.

I don’t see James van Riemsdyk out there

DeBrincat Copp Kane
Compher Larkin Raymond
Finnie Kasper Mazur
Perron Shine Appleton
— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) March 28, 2026

NHL Game Score Impact Card for Detroit Red Wings on 2026-03-28: pic.twitter.com/TqyC49Qarq
— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) March 29, 2026

John Gibson is slated to make his 12th straight start tonight against the Penguins. He’s seeking redemption, both after getting pulled for allowing four goals on 21 shots last Saturday against the Flyers and giving up two early goals in his last meeting with the Pens on Jan. 3.

TIPP CANNOT BE STOPPED. 🥵#PHIvsDET | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/tNoUJgRY1L
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) March 29, 2026

Season stats

via hockeydb

The Red Wings had wildly different results in their most recent back-to-back set, following a 5-2 win over the usually-dominant Buffalo Sabres with their collapse against the Flyers. That game was a hugely disappointing swing for a team that traded a package including a first-round pick in order to acquire Justin Faulk ahead of a hopeful playoff push.

Slow starts

Detroit has overall had trouble building much momentum since returning from the Olympic break. This team hasn’t put together a three-game win streak since January.

Part of the reason why could be a lingering issue with slow starts, which showed in Saturday’s loss to the Flyers. The Red Wings have overall been outscored 54-43 (and outshot 663-595) in first periods this season, per Hockey Reference.

Both of their recent losses that have weakened the team’s playoff position— a 3-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators last Tuesday and the Saturday defeat by the Flyers— involved the Red Wings giving up three straight goals to start the game.

The Penguins would love to put up some early goals against this team, which is 15-21-6 when their opponent scores first (5-10-4 on the road).

The Red Wings, who have lost three of their last four and know exactly what playoff implications are on the line here, will be similarly motivated to strike first. As Lucas Raymond said after his team’s loss to the Flyers, “we’ve got to play with a lot more desperation and jump if we want to win hockey games” (h/t The Athletic’s Max Bultman).

Playoff implications

Tonight is another game with major implications for the Eastern Conference playoff race, per MoneyPuck. The Pens could take another step toward clinching a playoff spot with a win, while the Red Wings’ postseason hopes would plummet with a loss.

Checking in on the East’s Wild Card race, via NHL.com. The Red Wings are two points back of the Wild Card line, the same position as the Ottawa Senators and Flyers. All three teams have a game in hand over the current WC2 Columbus Blue Jackets.

And now for the Pens

Projected lines (from Monday’s game)

FORWARDS

Egor Chinakhov – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust

Anthony Mantha – Rickard Rakell – Justin Brazeau

Tommy Novak – Ben Kindel – Avery Hayes

Elmer Soderblom – Connor Dewar – Noel Acciari

DEFENSEMEN

Parker Wotherspoon / Erik Karlsson

Sam Girard / Kris Letang

Ryan Shea / Connor Clifton

Goalies: Stuart Skinner (Arturs Silovs started yesterday)

Potential Scratches: Evgeni Malkin* (injured), Ilya Solovyov, Blake Lizotte (injured), Kevin Hayes, Ryan Graves, Ville Koivunen, Rutger McGroarty

IR: Filip Hallander, Jack St. Ivany

Dan Muse did some line-shuffling last night, including placing Chinakhov on the first line and shuffling Tommy Novak to the third. Mantha and Brazeau looked good together on the second line, but that could change if Evgeni Malkin is able to return.
Speaking of Malkin: He was a full participant in practice the day before Monday’s game, so it seems there is at least a possibility he returns for tonight’s home matchup. In that case it could be Avery Hayes drawing out of the lineup as Rickard Rakell slides back to wing.
Elmer Soderblom is reuniting with his former team after coming one assist short of a Gordie Howe hat trick last night in his best game as Penguin so far.
The Penguins seem to know the playoff implications of a win tonight, based on their reaction to last night’s victory:

No celebrating in the Penguins locker room. Not even many smiles.

"Time to get ready for the Red Wings," Bryan Rust said.
— Josh Yohe (@JoshYohe_PGH) March 31, 2026

Sidney Crosby climbed the all-time NHL leaderboards for both assists and multi-point games in Monday night’s win over the Islanders.

Most multi-point games in @NHL HISTORY:

Wayne Gretzky – 824
Jaromir Jagr – 540
Sidney Crosby – 514
Mark Messier – 513
Marcel Dionne – 513

What can't Sidney Crosby do? 🤯 pic.twitter.com/E9xv1Ib5GC
— Penguins PR (@PenguinsPR) March 31, 2026

Sidney Crosby is the eighth player in NHL history to reach this mark, and just the second ever to record 1,100 assists with one franchise, after Ray Bourque with Boston. https://t.co/Nf6yIgsPx6
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) March 31, 2026

Mason Appleton

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