| Pos | Role | Name |
| C | 1 | Sidney Crosby  ActiveThe second-round series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals will begin on Thursday night. Game 1 will be played at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. This is the third year in a row that these two teams will go head-to-head in the second round. The Penguins managed to top the Capitals in each of the last two years. Apr 24 |
| 2 | Evgeni Malkin  SidelinedEvgeni Malkin (lower body) won't play in Game 1 of the second round. The good news is that Malkin will be traveling with the team, so there's a chance that he'll return for Game 2. Malkin was on the ice Wednesday morning prior to the Penguins' practice. Apr 25 |
| 3 | Derick Brassard ActivePenguins coach Mike Sullivan was very happy with Derick Brassard's performance in Game 3. Brassard only got 11:15 minutes of ice time in the contest, but he did contribute a goal and registered two hits. He also led the Penguins in terms of Corsi For percentage in that contest. It's all particularly encouraging because Brassard missed the last five games of the regular season due to a lower-body injury and it seems he's needed some time to get back up to speed as a result. "I think he's getting better with every game he's played," Sullivan said. "He’s coming off an injury where he hadn't had the opportunity to get into any sort of a flow. We'd really liked his game prior to the injury that he had. We thought he was really gaining traction, but since he's come back, we think he's getting better with each game that he plays." Apr 17 |
| 4 | Riley Sheahan ActiveRiley Sheahan could see more ice time Sunday with Evgeni Malkin questionable to play. Even if Malkin is able to go, he likely will not be close to 100 percent, giving extra ice time to both Sheahan and Derick Brassard. Sheahan had 11 goals and 32 points in 73 games for Pittsburgh after they acquired him from Detroit early in the season. Apr 22 |
| 5 | Carter Rowney ActiveCarter Rowney made his series debut in Game 6 against Philadelphia on Sunday. Rowney had been out with an upper-body injury since Mar. 15. He got a chance to play Sunday because of an injury to Evgeni Malkin. Rowney logged just 8:39 of ice time in the contest. Apr 22 |
| LW | 1 | Jake Guentzel ActiveJake Guentzel scored four goals and registered an assist to the Penguins to an 8-5 win over Philadelphia and clinch their first round series. The Penguins won the series in six games thanks in part to Guentzel's heroics. Guentzel caught fire in the second half of the contest, scoring in the final minute of the second period and adding another three in the third. That gave him four straight goals on his own before the Flyers finally ended his run. He was great throughout the series with six goals and 13 points in six games. Apr 22 |
| 2 | Bryan Rust ActiveBryan Rust found the back of the net in a 4-2 loss to Philadelphia in Game 5 on Friday. Rust has two goals in four games this playoffs. He only netted 13 goals during the regular season over 69 appearances, but he has elevated his game in the postseason before. Remember, he had 15 goals in the regular season in 2016-17 and ended up with seven goals and nine points in 23 playoff outings a year ago. Apr 20 |
| 3 | Carl Hagelin SidelinedCarl Hagelin (upper body) won't travel with the Penguins to Washington. Hagelin has officially been ruled out for Game 1. His status for Game 2 hasn't been announced yet, but we're taking the fact that he isn't traveling with the team as a sign that they don't expect him to return that quickly. He didn't practice with the Penguins on Wednesday, but he was on the ice before the rest of the team. Apr 25 |
| 4 | Tom Kuhnhackl ActiveTom Kuhnhackl will be back in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Devils. Kuhnhackl has missed the last eight games because of a lower-body injury. He'll skate on Pittsburgh's fourth line with Riley Sheahan and Carter Rowney. He has two goals and six assists in 50 games. Feb 27 |
| RW | 1 | Phil Kessel ActivePhil Kessel has been consistent when it comes to scoring goals in the playoffs. Over 75 career playoff games, Kessel has only gone four straight contests without a goal on five occasions. Kessel didn't have a goal in the first three games of the Penguins' first round series this year, but he avoided making it four-in-a-row by scoring a goal and registering an assist in Game 4. He's coming off a terrific regular season where he had 34 goals and 92 points in 82 games. Apr 20 |
| 2 | Patric Hornqvist ActivePatric Hornqvist scored a goal and registered two assists in Pittsburgh's 8-5 win over Philadelphia in Game 6 on Sunday. Hornqvist had missed the Penguins' previous two contests due to an upper-body injury. Sidney Crosby also had a goal and two assists, extending his point streak to four games. Carl Hagelin and Bryan Rust each found the back of the net for the Penguins. Kris Letang assisted on three goals, pushing him to seven points in six playoff games. Phil Kessel chipped in two assists in the series-clinching win. Apr 22 |
| 3 | Conor Sheary ActiveConnor Sheary only received 8:15 of ice time in the 5-1, Game 2 loss to the Flyers. Sheary, who has struggled thus far in the post-season, started the contest on the Pens' third line but didn't finish there as Zach Aston-Reese flipped spots with Sheary. With only 12 shifts Friday (a few in the third period on the fourth line) Sheary will need to play better pretty soon or he will continue to marginalized. Apr 14 |
| 4 | Dominik Simon ActiveDominik Simon registered an assist in Pittsburgh's 5-0 win over Philadelphia in Game 4 Wednesday night. Simon was making his NHL playoffs debut after Patric Hornqvist (upper body) was ruled out for the contest. Simon finished with a plus-two rating in 12:36 minutes of ice time. Apr 19 |
| 5 | Zach Aston-Reese ActiveZach Aston-Reese chipped in an assist in the Penguins' 5-0 win over Philadelphia in Game 4 on Wednesday. It was Aston-Reese's first career playoff point in his fourth game. The 23-year-old rookie had four goals and six points in 16 regular season contests. Apr 19 |
| D | 1 | Kris Letang ActiveKris Letang contributed three assists in Game 6 against Philadelphia. Letang finished with a plus-3 rating and one shot in 25:33 of ice time in Pittsburgh's series-clinching 8-5 victory. He notched one goal and seven points in the opening round of the postseason. Letang didn't get to play at all last year in the playoffs when the Penguins won the Stanley Cup. Apr 23 |
| 2 | Justin Schultz ActiveJustin Schultz collected three assists in Sunday's 5-4 overtime victory over Philadelphia. Schultz helped set up goals by Patric Hornqvist (power play), Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby to give the Penguins a 4-3 lead at the time. He has accounted for 23 points in 57 matches this season. Mar 25 |
| 3 | Brian Dumoulin ActiveBrian Dumoulin scored his first of the playoffs Sunday. Dumoulin scored the fourth Penguins goal and it tied an NHL record as the Penguins scored twice in five seconds. After a five goal, 18 point performance in 80 regular season games, Dumoulin has three points in three playoff games thus far. He averages a goal every 35 games during the regular season but improves that to one in 16 during the playoffs. Apr 16 |
| 4 | Olli Maatta ActiveOlli Maatta was a stud on the blueline for the Penguins Sunday. Maatta ended the game with a plus-four rating and was a big part of the Penguins win. Maatta also chipped in with an assist in 21:54 of ice time. Maatta tied his career mark of 29 points this season and should be counted on for a similar point total next season if he remains healthy. Apr 23 |
| 5 | Chad Ruhwedel ActiveChad Ruhwedel will be a healthy scratch in Saturday's game against the Canadiens. Ruhwedel has two goals and three assists in 42 games this season. This will be the second consecutive game he watches from the press box. Mar 31 |
| 6 | Matt Hunwick ActiveMatt Hunwick will be a healthy scratch in Friday's game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Hunwick was also scratched in the first four games of the series. He had four goals and six points in 42 games this season. Patric Hornqvist and Carter Rowney will both miss the game due to injury. Apr 20 |
| 7 | Jamie Oleksiak ActiveWhile the Penguins are full of players with a wealth of postseason experience, Jamie Oleksiak is looking to make his playoff debut. Pittsburgh acquired Oleksiak from Dallas back in December to add some defensive depth and provide the squad with a towering, physical blueliner. He went on to record four goals, 14 points, and 69 penalty minutes in 47 games with the Penguins. He should be in the lineup for Game 1. "Honestly it’s more excitement than it is nervousness," Oleksiak said. "We played that game in Columbus [Thursday] night, which was as close to a playoff game as you’re going to get in the regular season. That was a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to kind of going in with this group. I think it’s a great group to go into the playoffs with." Apr 9 |
| G | 1 | Matt Murray ActiveMatt Murray stopped 21 of 26 shots in an 8-5 win over Philadelphia in Game 6. It was far from an ideal showing out of Murray, but the Penguins are advancing to the second round regardless. Murray did record two shutouts in the first round, so he was certainly a contributor to the Penguins' overall success, but Pittsburgh might need a more consistent performance out of him as we get deeper into the postseason. Apr 22 |
| 2 | Casey DeSmith ActiveCasey DeSmith turned aside all 35 shots he faced in Friday's 4-0 win over the Ottawa Senators. The Penguins goaltender waited until the final day of his team's season to pick up the first shutout of his NHL career. He's won three of his last four outings. He'll finish the regular season with a 6-4-1 record with a 2.40 goals-against-average and a .921 save percentage this season. If the Pens make a long playoff run, it's probably because DeSmith won't see much action. Apr 6 |