After being off since Sunday, the Pittsburgh Penguins [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins] will return to action on Friday night against the Minnesota Wild [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/minnesota-wild]. The Penguins are coming off a 4-0 shutout win over the Nashville Predators [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/nashville-predators] in the NHL's Global Series, while the Wild are coming off a 4-3 shootout win over the Carolina Hurricanes [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/carolina-hurricanes] on Wednesday. After starting slowly, the Wild have found their game, winning three in a row and seven of their last nine. They are making their move in the standings and are tied with the Chicago Blackhawks [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks] for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. The Blackhawks currently have the tiebreaker since they have a game in hand. Kirill Kaprizov has really gotten going for the Wild and has compiled 11 goals and 24 points in 21 games. Matt Boldy has also been fantastic this season, totaling 11 goals and 22 points in 21 games. In goal, Filip Gustavsson is the starter [https://x.com/wildjoeradio/status/1991899676770185650] for this game, despite backup Jesper Wallstedt having a stellar season. He may be the backup and only has seven starts, but he has a .926 save percentage and a 2.20 goals-against average. Arturs Silovs will start in goal for the Penguins after he was the first goaltender off at the morning skate. He was tremendous in his last start on Friday and was the only reason the Penguins got a point in that game against the Predators. He's been one of the best goaltenders in the league to start the year and ranks 10th in the NHL in goals saved above expected with 8.4. Here's a look at what the rest of the lineup could look like, based on Thursday's practice: Forwards: Dewar-Crosby-Rust Hayes-Malkin-Mantha Novak-Kindel-Poulin Koppanen-Lizotte-Heinen Defensive pairs Wotherspoon-Karlsson Shea-Letang Graves-Clifton -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Puck drop for Friday's contest is set for 7 p.m. ET on SportsNet Pittsburgh and NHL Network. You can also listen to the game on 105.9 'The X.' -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw/sections/CAQqEAgAKgcICjCvqtILMO7F6QMwquDfCA?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen] to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!
