Faceoff Factor

Gonchar, Fedotenko To Play Tonight!

Matt Bodenschatz | Pittsburgh Penguins

Feb 14, 12:28 PM | Hype this story!

The Penguins have confirmed that defenseman Sergei Gonchar and forward Ruslan Fedotenko will return to the lineup tonight.

Gonchar will be paired with Rob Scuderi on defense, while Fedotenko will play fourth line minutes with Max Talbot and Eric Godard.

Tonight’s lineup:

Kennedy – Crosby – Dupuis
Cooke – Malkin – Sykora
Thomas – Staal – Satan
Fedotenko – Talbot – Godard

Orpik – Whitney
Letang – Eaton
Scuderi – Gonchar

Gonchar has been sidelined since the preseason after undergoing shoulder surgery. His presence on the powerplay hopefully will spark a unit that has been absolutely abysmal.

“He looks unbelievable out there [in practice],” said fellow defenseman Ryan Whitney, who also missed a large portion of the season with an injury. “He’ll do great.”

Fedotenko has been sidelined since early January after breaking his hand in a fight with former Penguin Colby Armstrong. His injury originally projected to have him back in the lineup by early February, but a few setbacks have caused a delay.

His role on the fourth line likely is because he is not yet 100 percent and isn’t yet ready to play the minutes required of a scoring line winger.