Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Stuart Skinner is scheduled to start Saturday’s game against the rival Philadelphia Flyers at PPG Paints Arena.
Coach Dan Muse announced Skinner’s status approximately two hours before the opening faceoffs.
In 38 games this season, Skinner has a 19-13-6 record, a 2.74 goals-against average, an .892 save percentage and two shutouts.
Skinner last played the Flyers on Jan. 15 in a 6-3 home win. He made 31 saves on 34 shots in that victory.
Notes:
• Per Muse, new forward Elmer Soderblom will be scratched after traveling to Pittsburgh following his acquisition in a trade with the Detroit Red Wings on Friday.
“He’s hard to miss,” Muse quipped in regard to the 6-foot-8 and 252-pound Soderblom. “So, you know who he is when he’s out there. Just a massive player with really good speed for his size. Just good speed in general. You see the puck protection, you see his ability to get in on the forecheck. He’s a guy who plays a really solid two-way game. Just that reach that he has combined with the speed that he can provide, just being able to get back and strip pucks.
“There’s a lot there. He’s still a young player, too. That’s exciting.”
• Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin is serving the first game of a five-game suspension.
Muse largely declined to comment on Malkin’s latest suspension for a stick-related infraction.
“He’s got five games,” Muse said. “He’s going to serve those five games. (Malkin has) been having a great year for us. My full expectation is, when he does come back, he’s going to come back to help this team continue to win games. There’s no doubt in my mind on that. … It’s an emotional game.
“Honestly, right now too, I’m focused in on today’s game with this group. He’s got five games, and that’s really the only comment I have.”
• Penguins forward Connor Dewar has 299 career games.
• Penguins defenseman Kris Letang has 799 career points.
• Penguins defenseman Sam Girard has 298 career assists.
• Penguins forward Rickard Rakell has 297 career assists.
• With the game scheduled to start shortly after 5:30 p.m., neither team staged a morning skate.
• The Flyers are scheduled to start goaltender Dan Vladar. In 37 games this season, Vladar has a 19-10-6 record, a 2.39 GAA and a .908 save percentage.
Vladar last played the Penguins in a 5-1 home loss Dec. 1. In that contest, Vladar made 22 saves on 25 shots.
• The Flyers recalled forward Alex Bump from Lehigh Valley of the American Hockey League and assigned defenseman Adam Ginning to Lehigh Valley.
Bump is scheduled to make his NHL debut.
• Forward Luke Glendening is scheduled to make his Flyers debut after being claimed off waivers from the New Jersey Devils on Friday.
• Flyers defenseman Cam York has 99 career assists.
• The scheduled referees are Francois St. Laurent (No. 8) and Mitch Dunning (No. 20), while the linesmen are Tyson Baker (No. 88) and Kilian McNamara (No. 93).
