Game 46 Preview: Penguins Host Lightning

Matt Bodenschatz | Pittsburgh Penguins

Jan 18, 09:20 AM | Hype this story!
W L OTL Tot.
0 1 0 0
 
Tot. W L OTL
1 1 0 0

7:30 @ Mellon Arena
FSN Pittsburgh, SUN Net (Tampa Bay)
 
Inside The Game
Don’t judge a book by its cover.  The Tampa Bay Lightning may appear to be a pushover or an easy win.  After all, the Bolts sit in last place in the Eastern Conference and 29th in the NHL, and their goals-against (157) rank next to last in the league.

But what lies beneath the surface is a much more talented, dynamic hockey team that can beat even the top teams in the league.  Vincent Lecavalier is in a three-way tie for first place in points with 63, and Martin St. Louis (53) and Vaclav Prospal (45) are having solid years as well.  At any given moment, the Lightning can break out offensively and put away the game.

Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Penguins could be primed for an upset.  After flying through a 10-game point streak (nine wins) that saw them play nearly every other day, the "Mighty Guins" haven’t had a game since Monday.  And, as Empty Netters pointed out yesterday, the Penguins haven’t had the best of luck this season coming off of three-day breaks.  Their record is just 1-3.

Evgeni Malkin has been flying high since being snubbed from the All Star game and Sidney Crosby has regained his dominant form that led him to win the scoring race last season, despite not having a "big game" at home.  It will be interesting to see how the battle of the best plays out as Crosby and Malkin try to outshine Lecavalier and St. Louis on home ice tonight.
 
Standings
  GP W L OT Pts Division Conference League
Penguins 45 26 16 3 55 2, Atlantic 5, Eastern 8, NHL
Lightning 46 17 24 5 39 5, Southeast 15, Eastern 29, NHL
                 
Team Statistics
  GF GA PP% PK% Home Away L 10 Streak
Penguins 133 120 19.1 80.3 13-8-2 13-8-1 9-0-1 1 win
Lightning 132 157 18.3 80.0 12-10-2 5-14-3 2-6-2 1 loss
                 
Team Leaders
  Stat Penguins   Stat Lightning
Goals 23 Malkin Goals 28 Lecavalier
Assists 43 Crosby Assists 36 St. Louis
Points 63 Crosby Points 63 Lecavalier
PIMs 68 Laraque/Malone PIMs 95 O’Brien
Wins 10 Conklin Wins 14 Holmqvist
 
Injuries
Penguins Injury Lightning Injury
Roberts, IR
Eaton, IR
Fleury, IR
 		 Broken Left Leg
Torn ACL
Ankle Sprain
 		 Ouellet, IR
Craig, IR
Boyle, IR
Taylor, IR		 Dislocated Left Shoulder
left Knee
Left Wrist Surgery
Hip
       
Note: Info up-to-date as of 9:20 am, Friday, January 18, 2008.

Comments

  1. DaBich

    Jan 18, 11:23 AM

    Bring it on!

  2. Ashley Gallant

    Jan 18, 09:15 PM

    I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m getting sick of hearing the words “high ankle sprain.”

    I hope this isn’t as bad as it seems right now.

  3. Tim

    Jan 18, 11:54 PM

    Ashley I couldn’t agree more. This team has been so unlucky with injuries it’s sickening. How does a team have 3 players with a freakin high ankle sprain! Including 2 star players. This month has huge games against Mon NJ Phil etc. I am sick over this

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