Game Preview: Colorado Avalanche @ Pittsburgh Penguins 3/24/2026

Who: Colorado Avalanche (46-13-10, 102 points, 1st place Central Division) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (35-19-16, 86 points, 2nd place Metropolitan Division)

When: 7:00 p.m. eastern

How to Watch: Locally broadcast on Sportsnet Pittsburgh and Altitude Sports, streaming on ESPN+

Pens’ Path Ahead: The Penguins are hitting the road to play the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night before returning home for a matchup with the Dallas Stars on Saturday. Then comes a back-to-back set with major Eastern Conference playoff race implications as the Penguins take on the New York Islanders on the road Monday 3/30 and the Detroit Red Wings at home the following day.

Opponent Track: The Avalanche lost some ground to the Dallas Stars in the race for the top of the Western Conference with a recent three-game losing streak, but they’ve since bounced back on their ongoing road trip with back-to-back wins over the Chicago Blackhawks and a 3-2 overtime win over the Washington Capitals on Sunday afternoon.

Season Series: Evgeni Malkin scored two goals in his return from suspension to help lead the Pens to a 7-2 win over the Avs at Ball Arena in these two team’s first matchup last week.

Hidden Stat: The Avalanche were the first team both to record 100 points and clinch a playoff spot in the NHL this season. This marks the ninth straight time Colorado has made a trip to the postseason, a span which includes their run to the 2022 title.

Getting to know the Avalanche

Projected lines

FORWARDS

Valeri Nichushkin – Nathan MacKinnon – Martin Necas

Gabriel Landeskog – Brock Nelson – Nazem Kadri

Parker Kelly – Jack Drury – Joel Kiviranta

Zakhar Bardakov – Nicolas Roy – Gavin Brindley

DEFENSEMEN

Brett Kulak / Cale Makar

Devon Toews / Sam Malinski

Josh Manson / Brent Burns

Goalies: Scott Wedgewood, Mackenzie Blackwood

Potential scratches: Artturi Lehkonen (upper body), Ross Colton (upper body), Nick Blankenburg

Injured Reserve: Logan O’Connor (offseason hip surgery)

Former Penguin Brett Kulak has slotted in on the Avalanche’s top pairing alongside Cale Makar with the team experimenting with breaking up the famously successful Toews/Makar duo. Kulak played 20:31 against Washington on Sunday, his most since joining Colorado on Feb 24.
Kulak was one of the Avs’ deadline additions alongside Nazem Kadri, a key part of the team’s run to the 2022 Cup. Kadri has now slotted in on the second line alongside Brock Nelson and has four points (two goals, two assists) in seven games since the trade.
Gabriel Landeskog, who had been sidelined with a lower-body injury since March 6, returned to the Avs’ lineup for Sunday’s matchup against the Washington Capitals in time to score a goal. Landeskog’s presence gives Colorado a different feel from the last PIT/COL game where the Avs used an 11 forward/7 defensemen lineup.
Artturi Lehkonen (upper body injury), Ross Colton (upper body injury) and Logan O’Connor (who has yet to make his season debut after undergoing hip surgery last June, are traveling with the Avs on their current five-game road trip. Those three will be with the team in Pittsburgh, per NHL.com’s Tracey Myers, although it’s not clear yet if they’ll be available to play. Whether they return for Tuesday’s game or not, the Avs will be hoping to get them back alongside Landeskog ahead of the postseason.
The Avs have been riding one of the best goalie tandems in the NHL this season in Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood, although both got shelled in the Avs’ 7-2 loss to the visiting Pens last week. Blackwood has gotten the team’s last two starts, winning both Friday’s game over the Chicago Blackhawks and Sunday against the Washington Capitals in his most recent two outings.

Season stats
via hockeydb

The Avs’ power play has been inconsistent this season despite having the advantage of rolling out Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. The unit went 0-for-2 on Sunday against the Washington Capitals and ranks 28th in the NHL with a 16.7 percent success rate so far this season.
Colorado has made up for that, of course, at even strength. The Avalanche lead the NHL with 183 goals for at 5v5 heading into Tuesday. (For what it’s worth, the Pens rank fourth with 141 goals at even strength).
MacKinnon scored a goal against the Pens last week and added three assists in a game against Chicago but was held without a point against the Capitals. He now sits five points behind Tampa’s Nikita Kucherov (119) in the scoring race. Connor McDavid (116) is just ahead of MacKinnon as well.

And now for the Pens

Projected lines

FORWARDS

Rickard Rakell – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust

Egor Chinakhov – Tommy Novak – Evgeni Malkin

Anthony Mantha – Ben Kindel – Justin Brazeau

Elmer Soderblom – Connor Dewar – Noel Acciari

DEFENSEMEN

Parker Wotherspoon / Erik Karlsson

Sam Girard / Kris Letang

Ryan Graves / Connor Clifton

Goalies: Stuart Skinner, Arturs Silovs

Potential Scratches: Ilya Solovyov, Blake Lizotte (injured), Kevin Hayes, Ryan Shea (day-to-day upper body injury)

IR: Filip Hallander, Caleb Jones

Ville Koivunen was re-assigned to the WBS Penguins on Sunday.
Ryan Shea, who exited Saturday’s matchup against the Winnipeg Jets after taking a hard hit from Adam Lowry, missed Sunday’s game with what the Penguins described as a day-to-day upper-body injury. The Penguins had a scheduled off day yesterday, we’ll have to see this morning during the gameday skate if Shea is able to take the ice or if an update will be provided about his status.
Ryan Graves drew into the lineup for the first time in two months in Shea’s place. He immediately had an impact, although it wasn’t a positive one, by taking a penalty less than 30 seconds into Sunday’s matchup and getting the Carolina Hurricanes’ dangerous power play on the ice.
Bryan Rust is riding a seven-game point streak (5G+6A).