The Pittsburgh Penguins were without goaltender Stuart Skinner on Sunday, as he missed the matchup against the Florida Panthers due to an upper-body injury. Skinner had played the full 60 minutes in a 6-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday but did not dress for either of the back-to-back games against Florida.
With Skinner unavailable, Arturs Silovs handled starting duties for the second consecutive game. After stopping 19 of 23 shots in Saturday's 9-4 win, Silovs followed up with a 29-save performance in Sunday's 5-2 win. Pittsburgh's offense provided consistent support, led by Rickard Rakell, who scored twice, while Sidney Crosby finished with one goal and two assists. Bryan Rust and Elmer Soderblom also found the net. Florida's goals came from Carter Verhaeghe and Cole Schwindt.
Skinner, 27, has appeared in 24 games for the Penguins since being acquired from the Edmonton Oilers in December, framing a 2.99 goals-against average and an .886 save percentage alongside an 11-8-5 record. While his stats are modest, he showed improvement recently, saving 1.4 goals above expected over his last 10 outings.
In response to his absence, Pittsburgh recalled goaltender Taylor Gauthier from the Wheeling Nailers, where he has compiled a 20-7-5 record, 2.00 GAA, .932 save percentage, and three shutouts over 33 games this season. He served as Silovs' backup, with reinforcements possible if Skinner misses additional time.
The Penguins, now 40-22-16, remain second in the Metropolitan Division. Next, they will visit the New Jersey Devils on Thursday, followed by a home-and-home series against the Washington Capitals and a regular-season finale on the road versus the St. Louis Blues.
