Penguins make some line changes at morning skate ahead of Game 3

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - APRIL 18: Egor Chinakhov #59 of the Pittsburgh Penguins takes a hit from Sean Couturier #14 of the Philadelphia Flyers in the first period of Game One of the First Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at PPG PAINTS Arena on April 18, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images) | Getty Images

It looks like the Penguins will be trying some new lines tonight in Game 3 against the Philadelphia Flyers. Here’s how they were working at this morning’s skate.

Rickard Rakell moved back from the top line in the middle of Game 2, it looks like the old familiar first line will be back in action again tonight. They’ll have to deal with a heavy dose of Sean Couturier and Travis Sanheim who have been able to keep a lid on the key matchup against Sidney Crosby in the first two games of the series and now get the home change in Philadelphia.

Big changes in the middle lines, it looks like Elmer Soderblom is the odd man out after playing the first two games and Justin Brazeau will make his Penguin playoff debut tonight.

The big change is on the second line, flipping Anthony Mantha and Egor Chinakhov. Mantha and Evgeni Malkin have skated together 213 minutes at 5v5 this season, outscoring the opposition by a 13-9 score. It’ll be a relatively new line, Novak has only been with the two big wingers for 93 total minutes over pieces of 55 games.

That drops Chinakhov down from first line player entering Game 1 down to the third line that usually receives low minutes with Brazeau and Ben Kindel. This will be virtually a brand new combination, the three skated together less than six total minutes in the regular season, though Kindel+Brazeau have the familiarity of playing 280 minutes together (and outscoring the opposition 17-11 while together). That’s usually been with Mantha as the third member of that line, now they get a new look on the left wing.