The Penguins will go for three in a row Monday night when the New York Rangers travel to Pittsburgh for an Atlantic Division showdown.
Both the Penguins and Rangers currently sit at 19 points, behind Philadelphia's division-leading 24. New York does have one game in hand. The Penguins are fresh off back-to-back wins against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Atlanta Thrashers. The Rangers are coming off two straight wins of their own, a 3-2 overtime victory against the Buffalo Sabres and an 8-2 whooping of the Edmonton Oilers.
Superstars from both sides are coming off big nights. Evgeni Malkin had a four-point night, including a hat trick, in Saturday's 4-2 victory over the Thrashers, and New York's Marion Gaborik netted three goals and an assist in the Rangers' victory over the Oilers on Sunday.
This is a big matchup in the Atlantic Division as the two squads look to keep pace with Philadelphia.
Game Time- 7:00. TV- FSN Pittsburgh.
The Lineup
Forwards:
We shouldn't see any drastic changes in the lineup for Monday night's affair. Tyler Kennedy will miss the game with an illness, possibly giving Mike Comrie a chance to get back in there. Comrie took shifts skating with the fourth line during Monday's morning skate.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton call-up Chris Conner is still up with the big club and will reprise his role on the third line. Letestu remains at center on the unit, while Max Talbot slides into the right-wing spot that Kennedy had previously occupied.
The top two lines remain unchanged. Sidney Crosby is on a red-hot five-game point streak (6G-6A) and Malkin has seven points in his last four outings.
Defense:
While the defense is not yet perfect, it has looked vastly better over Pittsburgh's last two games. Of course it helps that goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury has been on his game. When the Penguins and Fleury were struggling, the defense looked lost and awkward. There is a gaffe here or there, which has to be expected with this Penguins system, but the overall look is much better.
Deryk Engelland has been making a strong case to stay in there as the sixth defenseman. He has showed off his fighting chops this year and now has points in two straight (1G-1A), while accumulating a plus-4 rating over that span.
Kris Letang is riding a three-game point streak, collecting four assists in that time.
Goaltending:
Marc-Andre Fleury has collected two straight wins after a shaky start to the year. The "Flower" is expected to start Monday night against the Rangers, a showdown against New York's Henrik Lundqvist.
Fleury has been very sharp in Pittsburgh's last two victories, keeping his team in it by making big saves at key times. He has only allowed three total goals in his last two starts.
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