Cooper Black gets his NHL debut in Pittsburgh on a back-to-back

The Panthers are about to find out what they have in the third goalie, and I like the timing more than the schedule does. Cooper Black, 25, undrafted out of Dartmouth and listed at 6-foot-8, is expected to make his NHL debut in Pittsburgh tonight.

Yes, it's the back half of a back-to-back, with travel, after a 5-1 loss in Ottawa. It's also a Penguins team that has lost four straight.

Black is the first goalie to debut for Florida since Spencer Knight in April 2021. He went 25-13-4 with a .903 save percentage as Charlotte's starter last season. Maurice liked what he saw this week. "He looks like he fits. He looks comfortable. It's the right time for him to get in," he said.

The lineup card:

• Brady Tkachuk – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk

• Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Reinhart – Lars Eller

• Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Sandis Vilmanis

• Bokondji Imama – Cole Schwindt – Garnet Hathaway

• Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad

• Niko Mikkola – Seth Jones

• Dmitry Kulikov – Uvis Balinskis

• Goalies: Cooper Black (expected starter), Akira Schmid

These are expected lines from the morning skate, not a confirmed card. Radko Gudas and Cole Reinhardt are the projected scratches. That's a quick turn for Gudas, who played 17.1 minutes in his return last night, up 4.6 from his previous game, per NHL data.

Goalies

Schmid took the loss in Ottawa with 25 saves on 30 shots, so the kid gets the net. For Pittsburgh, Arturs Silovs is expected to start. His save percentage over his last five starts is .848 by our count, which is not a number that intimidates anybody in an opposing locker room.

Who's out

Florida: Jacob Markstrom (upper body, hurt in practice Monday, expected out 10 to 14 days), Aleksander Barkov (knee), Brad Marchand (knee) and Jonah Gadjovich (upper body).

Pittsburgh: Bryan Rust (lower body, to be reevaluated in six weeks), Ben Kindel (awaiting medical clearance), Samuel Girard, Trevor van Riemsdyk, Justin Brazeau and Ryan Graves.

The Penguins

Pittsburgh is 3-6-1 and just went 0-4 on a Western swing. By our count they're 1-4 over their last five with a minus-10 goal differential.

They unveiled new combinations at the morning skate: Tommy Novak with Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell, and Evgeni Malkin, their goal leader with five, on Hendrix Lapierre's right side. Erik Karlsson drives the bus with 11 points, 10 of them assists.

Head-to-head

This is the first meeting of the season, and the Penguins come home off that 0-4 trip sitting seventh in the Metropolitan Division.

The one matchup:

Florida's penalty kill against Karlsson. Pittsburgh's power play is converting at 23.3 percent, and Florida's kill sits at 81.4. A rookie in his first start doesn't need to see five-on-four looks with Karlsson walking the line and Crosby on the half-wall. Win the wall, stay out of the box, and Black gets a normal game.

Pabs' read:

Panthers win, 4-2. Matthew Tkachuk has a point in nine consecutive games by our count, and the Tkachuk brothers are going to eat against a blue line missing two regulars.

Black doesn't need to steal it, and nobody in that dressing room expects him to. He needs to see the first shot, swallow rebounds and let the room play a full-ferda game in front of him. Last night was a gut punch. This is how a veteran group answers one.

The line, for those who care: Pittsburgh -115, Florida -105, total 6.5. Florida has covered the puck line in two of nine games by our count. 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.

How to watch

Puck drops at 7 p.m. ET at PPG Paints Arena. In Florida it's on Scripps Sports (WSFL 39 in Miami and Fort Lauderdale, WHDT 9 in West Palm Beach, LAFF 36.3 in Southwest Florida), streaming on Panthers+ and ESPN+, with radio on WQAM.