Scratches
D Ben Lovejoy
C Mike Comrie
RW Eric Godard
Pittsburgh Vs. Tampa Bay
The Penguins will look to put Wednesday's epic meltdown against the Boston Bruins behind them when the Tampa Bay Lightning come to town Friday night. Tampa Bay's potent offense is led by NHL scoring leader Steven Stamkos (14G-12A).
The Lightning are shaping up to be one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference. This should be a good test for the Penguins as the team attempts to return to .500 and gain some ground on the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers in the Atlantic Division.
Game Time- 7:00. TV- RIS, FSN Pittsburgh.
The Lineup
Forwards:
A positive aspect of the Penguins forward group is the recent production of superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Crosby has seven points in the last three games, while Malkin has three in the past two.
The offense managed to put up four goals against Tim Thomas and the Bruins. It should have been enough to win the game, but a sloppy third period put the contest out of reach.
Jordan Staal (broken hand) is the only Penguins forward with any type of serious injury. Mike Comrie has been fighting the flu. And while he did take Wednesday's morning skate, he was not with a normal line.
Projected Lines:
Kunitz-Crosby-Dupuis
Cooke-Malkin-Asham
Conner-Letestu-Kennedy
Rupp-Talbot-Adams
While it looks strange on paper, the second line had a decent outing Wednesday against the Bruins. Asham scored, while Cooke and Malkin combined for three assists. Malkin was showing a spark Wednesday night, despite a couple scary situations that saw him hobble off the ice in pain. Malkin sat out Thursday's practice with bumps and bruises, but he should be ready to go against Tampa Bay.
It looks like Wilkes-Barre/Scranton call-up Chris Conner will crack the lineup Friday night. While Conner lacks size (5-foot-8, 180-pounds), he has proved to be a sold, high-energy addition to the lineup when his services are called upon. If Tyler Kennedy can get to his tenacious game this will be a speedy, pesky line. Mark Letestu is still trying to match his early-season success and this aggression could help him get there.
Chris Kunitz has goals in two straight, a great thing to see. We all know it: If you play with Crosby, you must produce. Kunitz was getting to his game against Boston, putting himself in front of the net and battling hard in the corners. This type of play should lead to more success for Kunitz.
Defense:
Oh, the defense, what can I say? It was a major factor in Wednesday's implosion against the Bruins. General manager Ray Shero went out and dropped some serious coin on the defense this summer. It was the big issue that Pittsburgh addressed through free agency.
This defense can, and will, play better. The individual efforts were poor in the third period against Boston. Too many mistakes sunk the Penguins.
Projected Pairs:
Letang-Orpik
Michalek-Martin
Goligoski-Lovejoy-Engelland
There were gaffes across the board Wednesday night. Some defenders had more than others, but I wouldn't say that any one guy really played a solid, complete game. Like I mentioned above, this is a talented group that has underachieved thus far. Friday's tilt against the Lightning is a chance for the defense to make a statement. Tampa Bay has some serious offensive weapons in players like Stamkos and Martin St. Louis.
The Penguins defense will catch a break (no pun intended), as Lightning captain Vincent Lecavalier broke his hand in Tampa Bay's 6-3 loss to the Washington Capitals on Thursday. But even with Lecavalier out of the lineup, this Lightning squad can still fill the net.
Goaltending:
Head coach Dan Bylsma has confirmed that Marc-Andre Fleury will get the start Friday night. If this isn't a chance for Fleury to step in there and prove he is the No. 1 guy, I don't know what is.
Fleury just needs to settle in and have a solid start to the game. Whether it's been his fault or not, the "Flower" has had a tendency to let in early goals this season, which does little to help his confidence.
The defense, along with Fleury, needs to come out ready to play right of the bat and keep up a smart intensity level throughout the game.
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