Pittsburgh Penguins News

The Oilers have split starts in their 2025-26 season (1-0-1) and will return to their season-opening starter, Stuart Skinner, on Tuesday against the New York Rangers. The 26-year-old Skinner was serviceable in his only start of the season, saving 19 of 22 shots (.864 SV%), but mishandled a puck in the third period, resulting in a goal en route to an eventual 4-3 shootout loss to the Calgary Flames. The Oilers enter Tuesday's contest as -134 road favorites against a Rangers team that has failed to score in two of their four games this season (2-2-0).

With Pierre-Luc Dubois sidelined, day-to-day with a lower-body injury, Lapierre will draw back into Washington's lineup as his replacement. The 23-year-old Lapierre is averaging 10:03 time-on-ice and has zero points through two games this season. He will suit up on a line with Sonny Milano and Ryan Leonard.

Letang exited Saturday's game against the New York Rangers after 15:29 time-on-ice but was back at practiced on Monday. The Penguins return to action on Tuesday evening in Anaheim against the Ducks.

Letang left early in the third period and did not return to Saturday's 6-1 loss to the Rangers. Head coach Dan Muse said that Letang is being evaluated and he should be considered questionable to play Tuesday in Anaheim.

Rust was back at practice on Thursday but will remain out of the lineup against the New York Islanders. The 33-year-old Rust scored a career-high 65 points (31G / 34A) in 71 games last season and will likely return to a role on the team's top powerplay unit when he returns.

Connor Dewar will be a healthy scratch on Thursday, allowing Hallander to make his season debut against the New York Islanders. The 25-year-old Hallander spent the previous two seasons playing hockey in Sweden, including an impressive 2024-25 season where he scored 53 points (26G / 27A) in 51 games with Timra IK (SweHL).

Coming off a forgetful 2024-25 season where he posted a 2.81 GAA and .896 SV% in 51 outings (26-18-4), Skinner will hope to return to the form that made him a top-15 netminder in his previous two seasons. The Oilers are expected to have one of the NHL's best offenses again in 2025-26, which should allow Skinner to accumulate plenty of victories. The 26-year-old netminder will be between the pipes in Edmonton's season opener on Wednesday, entering the contest as sizable -214 home favorites against the Calgary Flames.

Silovs was acquired in a trade from the Vancouver Canucks in the offseason to battle with Tristan Jarry for the Penguins' crease and appears to have a head start on opening night as he will tend the twine against the New York Rangers. The 24-year-old Silovs has limited NHL experience, having played a career-high 10 games with Vancouver last season (2-6-1), posting a 3.65 GAA and a .861 SV%. Expect the Penguins to alternate starts between their goaltenders unless one can establish themselves as the undisputed starter. The Penguins enter Tuesday's contest against the Rangers as +194 road underdogs.

Girard missed almost all of the preseason, but made his debut in Colorado's finale on Saturday. This is a good sign that Girard will be available for their season opener, but Colorado also waived two defensemen on Sunday, furthering the belief that Girard is good-to-go for Tuesday.