Pittsburgh visits Tampa Bay after Crosby’s 2-goal game

Pittsburgh Penguins (13-7-5, in the Metropolitan Division) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (16-8-2, in the Atlantic Division)

Tampa, Florida; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Penguins visit the Tampa Bay Lightning after Sidney Crosby scored two goals in the Penguins’ 5-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Tampa Bay is 8-5-0 in home games and 16-8-2 overall. The Lightning rank fourth in NHL play serving 11.4 penalty minutes per game.

Pittsburgh has a 7-3-3 record in road games and a 13-7-5 record overall. The Penguins have a +11 scoring differential, with 79 total goals scored and 68 given up.

The matchup Thursday is the first meeting of the season between the two clubs.

TOP PERFORMERS: Nikita Kucherov has 11 goals and 21 assists for the Lightning. Brandon Hagel has eight goals and five assists over the past 10 games.

Bryan Rust has eight goals and 13 assists for the Penguins. Crosby has seven goals and three assists over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Lightning: 8-2-0, averaging 3.6 goals, 6.2 assists, 4.3 penalties and 12.6 penalty minutes while giving up 1.8 goals per game.

Penguins: 4-3-3, averaging 2.5 goals, 3.6 assists, 3.1 penalties and 6.7 penalty minutes while giving up 2.7 goals per game.

INJURIES: Lightning: None listed.

Penguins: None listed.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.