About the Lightning - 02-12-12
A preview of the Lightning.
When and where: 7 p.m. EST. Consol Energy Center.
TV: Root Sports, Sun Sports, RDSI.
Record: 24-24-6, 62 points. The Lightning is in 12th place in the Eastern Conference and fourth place the Southeast Division.
Leading Scorer: Steve Stamkos, 62 points (37 goals, 25 assists).
Last Game: 2-1 road win against the Sabres, last night. Stamkos had a goal and an assist for the Lightning.
Last Game against the Penguins: 6-3 home loss, Jan. 15. Evgeni Malkin had a hat trick and two assists for the Penguins.
Lightning Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Teddy Purcell. He has a three-game scoring streak.
Ex-Penguins on the Lightning: Mathieu Garon (above), C; Adam Hall, RW; Greg Malone, head professional scout; Ryan Malone, LW; Dominic Moore, C.
Ex-Lightning on the Penguins: None.
Useless Lightning Trivia Vaguely Related to the Penguins: The first empty net goal against Lightning was scored by former Penguins left winger Gary Roberts, then of the Flames, in a 5-3 Calgary win Nov. 14, 1992.
Best Lightning Video We Could Find: Ruslan Fedotenko scoring the Stanley Cup-clinching goal for the Lightning in Game 7 of the 2004 Stanley Cup Final against the Flames:
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Probable goaltenders: Brent Johnson (2-6-2, 3.10 GAA, .885 SV%) for the Penguins and Mathieu Garon (17-13-4, 2.85 GAA; .902 SV%) for the Lightning.
Injuries: For the Penguins, center Tyler Kennedy (high ankle sprain) is out. Right winger Arron Asham (head), center Sidney Crosby (head/neck) and defensemen Simon Despres (knee) are on injured reserve. For the Lightning, left winger Ryan Malone ("upper body") is day to day. Defenseman Mattias Ohlund (knees) and center Dany Tyrell (knee) are on injured reserve.
Potential lines and defensive pairings: The Penguins did not have a full practice today. Their primary lines and defensive pairings against the Jets yesterday were:
Chris Kunitz - Evgeni Malkin - James Neal
Matt Cooke - Jordan Staal - Pascal Dupuis
Steve Sullivan - Cal O'Reilly - Dustin Jeffrey
Craig Adams - Joe Vitale - Richard Park
Brooks Orpik - Kris Letang
Paul Martin - Zbynek Michalek
Deryk Engelland - Matt Niskanen
-The Lightning did not hold a morning skate today. Based on their primary lines and defensive pairings against the Sabres yesterday and what has been reported today, this is a guess at lineup:
Steve Downie - Steven Stamkos - Teddy Purcell
Tom Pyatt - vincent Lecavalier - Martin St. Louis
Ryan Shannon - Dominic Moore - Nate Thompson
J.T. Wyman -Adam Hall - Brett Connolly
Eric Brewer - Pavel Kubina
Victor Hedman - Brett Clark
Brendan Mikkelson - Bruno Gervais
Notes:
-The last time the Penguins played the Lightning, this happened:
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-Matt Niskanen has appeared in 349 career games.
-Malkin has 297 career assists.
-The Penguins will be wearing their mish-mash "Frankenstein" blue jerseys.
-Our live blog begins at approximately 6 p.m.
(Photo: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)