Penguins Game 16: Key Lineup Changes & How to Watch vs. Bruins

The Pittsburgh Penguins host the Boston Bruins at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday, November 5, 2026.

Puck drop is just after 7:00 PM EST.

Mr. Jeff Jimerson will perform the National Anthem.

This is Game 16 of the season for Pittsburgh.

The Penguins are 5-8-2.

They have only two regulation wins all season.

They are winless in their last three games.

They have dropped seven of their last nine.

In their last ten games, they are 3-6-1.

Tuesday night, they lost at home to the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2.

The Penguins were not terrible in the second and third periods.

But mistakes kept happening.

Defenseman Kris Letang pinched and got burned for a tying breakaway goal in the middle of the third period.

Defenseman Declan Carlile botched a penalty-kill coverage in the final seconds.

That allowed Tomas Hertl to score the game-winner with 33 seconds remaining.

One positive has been goalie Arturs Silovs.

He stopped 20 of 23 shots against Vegas.

He has been much better than his statistics suggest.

Silovs is expected to start again tonight.

The Boston Bruins are 11-4-1.

They have 23 points in the 2026-27 season.

Their last game was a 3-2 shootout win over Vegas on Monday.

Rookie James Hagens scored in the first period.

Morgan Geekie made it 2-0 with a power-play goal early in the second.

Vegas tied it with goals from Mark Stone and Trevor Connelly.

Jeremy Swayman made 21 saves.

David Pastrnak scored the deciding goal in the shootout.

Swayman is expected to start for Boston.

HERE IS HOW TO WATCH

TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh.

Radio: 105.9 The X.

PENGUINS PROJECTED LINES

Line 1: Tommy Novak – Sidney Crosby – Rickard Rakell.

Line 2: Egor Chinakhov – Ben Kindel – Evgeni Malkin.

Line 3: Ville Koivunen – Hendrix Lapierre – Justin Brazeau.

Line 4: Connor Dewar – Blake Lizotte – Nick Robertson.

Defense Pair 1: Sam Girard – Erik Karlsson.

Defense Pair 2: Spencer Stastney – Kaedan Korczak.

Defense Pair 3: Declan Carlile – Kris Letang.

BRUINS PROJECTED LINES

Line 1: John-Jason Peterka – Pavel Zacha – David Pastrnak.

Line 2: Marat Khusnutdinov – Fraser Minten – Morgan Geekie.

Line 3: Casey Mittelstadt – Elias Lindholm – James Hagens.

Line 4: Tanner Jeannot – Sean Kuraly – Mark Kastelic.

Defense Pair 1: Hampus Lindholm – Charlie McAvoy.

Defense Pair 2: Nikita Zadorov – Will Borgen.

Defense Pair 3: Frederic Brunet – Mason Lohrei.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Penguins power play: 18.2%, ranked 22nd in the NHL.

Penguins penalty kill: 82.1%, ranked 11th.

Bruins power play: 20.0%, ranked 19th.

Bruins penalty kill: 76.4%, ranked 18th.

PENGUINS GAME NOTE

The Penguins have points in 11 of their last 17 home games against Boston (10-6-1) dating back to December 14, 2016.

That is a 64.7% point rate over nearly a decade.

Despite the current losing skid, the home-ice history against this opponent is solid.

BRUINS NOTES

The Bruins have won two straight.

They are 3-2-0 in their last five games.

They are averaging 3.2 goals per game in that stretch.

They are also allowing 3.2 goals per game.

Morgan Geekie has a goal in back-to-back games.

James Hagens is on a three-game point streak.

Hagens has five points in the last five games: three goals and two assists.

David Pastrnak scored the shootout winner on Monday.

Jeremy Swayman has been steady in net.

THE PUSH-BACK

The Penguins' room is under pressure.

Trade rumors are percolating.

That is a direct quote from the source: "the trade rumors are percolating."

Head coach Mike Sullivan has not publicly commented on any specific trade talk.

No player has been named in any formal trade request.

But the noise is there.

A team with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin at 5-8-2 draws attention.

Both are future Hall of Famers.

Both are still producing.

Crosby is centering a line with Tommy Novak and Rickard Rakell.

Malkin has Egor Chinakhov and Ben Kindel on his wings.

Those are not the same linemates they started the season with.

Changes are being made.

The lineup card itself is a message.

Novak on the top line is a vote of confidence.

Chinakhov on the second line is a chance to spark secondary scoring.

Ville Koivunen, a rookie, is on the third line with Hendrix Lapierre and Justin Brazeau.

That line has energy but little NHL track record.

On defense, Sam Girard is paired with Erik Karlsson.

That is an offensive-minded pairing.

Spencer Stastney and Kaedan Korczak form the second pair.

Declan Carlile and Kris Letang are the third pair.

Carlile had a tough night Tuesday.

He was on the ice for the tying goal and the game-winner.

But he is back in the lineup.

That shows the organization is not panicking.

They are sticking with their young defenseman.

Arturs Silovs gets the start again.

He has been the Penguins' best player in recent games despite the losses.

His save percentage does not tell the full story.

The team in front of him has made high-danger mistakes.

Silovs has kept them in games they had no business being in.

Boston, meanwhile, is rolling.

They have depth scoring.

James Hagens, a rookie, is on a three-game point streak.

Morgan Geekie has goals in back-to-back games.

David Pastrnak is David Pastrnak.

Jeremy Swayman is a proven starter.

Their penalty kill is ranked 18th, which is below average.