About the Panthers - 12-22-10
A preview of the Panthers.
When and where: 7 p.m. Consol Energy Center.
TV: FSN Pittsburgh, Fox Sports Florida, RIS.
Record: 15-16-0, 30 points. The Panthers are in 12th place in the Eastern Conference and fifth place in the Atlantic Division.
Leading Scorer: Michael Frolik and Stephen Weiss 19 points each (8 goals, 11 assists).
Last Game: 5-0 road win against the Flyers, Monday. Tomas Vokoun (right) made 26 saves for the Flyers.
Last Game against the Penguins: 3-2 home loss, Nov. 22. Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist for the Penguins.
Panthers Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Steven Reinprecht. He has 13 points in 12 career games against the Penguins.
Ex-Penguins on the Panthers: Dale Tallon, general manager; Bill Thomas, C.
Ex-Panthers on the Penguins: Tom Fitzgerald, assistant to the general manager; Randy Sexton, assistant director of amateur scouting.
Useless Panthers Trivia Vaguely Related to the Penguins: Thomas (No 37) is one of two former Penguins who have worn jersey numbers in the 30s for the Panthers. The other is Eric Cairns (No. 33).
Best Panthers Video We Could Find: Former Penguins goaltender Tom Barrasso hiding from a "rat storm" during the 1996 Eastern Conference final:
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Probable goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury (15-7-1, 2.29 GAA, .917 SV%) for the Penguins and Tomas Vokoun (13-12-0, 2.38 GAA, .924 SV%) for the Panthers.
Injuries: For the Penguins, forwards Mike Comrie (hip), Jordan Staal (hand) and defenseman Alex Grant (wrist) are on injured reserve. For the Panthers, forward Byron Bitz (sports hernia), Radek Dvorak (shoulder), Rostislav Olesz (finger) and Cory Stillman (back) are on injured reserve.
Potential lines and defensive pairings: The Penguins did not practice with a full crew yesterday. Their primary lines and defensive pairings against the Coyotes Monday were:
Chris Kunitz - Sidney Crosby - Pascal Dupuis
Matt Cooke - Maxime Talbot - Evgeni Malkin
Chris Conner - Mark Letestu - Tyler Kennedy
Mike Rupp - Craig Adams - Arron Asham
Brooks Orpik - Kris Letang
Paul Martin - Zbynek Michalek
Alex Goligoski - Deryk Engelland
-The Panthers ' primary lines and defensive pairings against the Flyers Monday were:
Michael Frolik - Stephen Weiss - Chris Higgins
David Booth - Mike Santorelli - Steve Bernier
Shawn Matthias - Marty Reasoner - Evgeny Dadonov
Darcy Hordichuk - Steven Reinprecht - Bill Thomas
Dmitry Kulikov - Bryan McCabe
Bryan Allen - Dennis Wideman
Jason Harrison - Mike Weaver
Notes:
-"The game was going to a different level for him." - Dan Bylsma on Malkin.
-It looks like Cooke will not face any supplementary discipline for his hit to Coyotes defenseman Keith Yandle Monday.
-Talbot has 49 career goals, 48 career assists and 97 career points.-Martin has 148 career assists.
-Thomas is happy to be back home in Pittsburgh.
-The Panthers have chased starting goaltenders in three consecutive games.
-Our live blog begins at approximately 6 p.m. Please tune in.
(Photo: Paul Bereswill/Getty Images)