About the Avalanche - 03-03-12
A preview of the Avalanche.
When and where: 9 p.m., EST. Pepsi Center.
TV: Root Sports, Altitude Sports.
Record: 33-28-4, 70 points. The Avalanche is in 10th place in the Western Conference and second place in the Northwest Division.
Leading Scorer: Ryan O'Reilly (right), 50 points (16 goals, 34 assists).
Last Game: 2-0 home loss to the Blue Jackets, Thursday. Semyon Varlamov made 26 saves for the Avalanche.
Last Game against the Penguins: 6-3 road loss, Nov. 15. James Neal had a goal and two assists for the Penguins.
Avalanche Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Steve Downie. In his last seven games - regular and postseason - against the Penguins - all with the Lightning - Downie has 11 points.
Ex-Penguins on the Avalanche: None.
Ex-Avalanche/Nordiques on the Penguins: Tom Fitzgerald, assistant to the general manager; Tony Granato, assistant coach; Andre Savard, professional scout.
Useless Avalanche/Nordiques Trivia Vaguely Related to the Penguins: Three former Avalanche/Nordiques first-round picks have played for the Penguins. They are defenseman Bryan Fogarty (1987), goaltender Jocelyn Thibault (1993) and defenseman Martin Skoula (1998).
Best Avalanche/Nordiques Video We Could Find: Former Nordiques center Peter Stastny scoring the series-clinching overtime goal in Game 7 of the 1985 Adams Division final against the rival Canadiens:
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Probable goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury (33-14-3, 2.34 GAA, .912 SV%) for the Penguins and Jean-Sebastien Giguere (15-9-2, 2.16 GAA; .922 SV%) for the Avalanche.
Injuries: For the Penguins, left winger Steve Sullivan (lower body) is probable. Goaltender Brent Johnson (undisclosed) is day to day. Defenseman Kris Letang ("upper body") is out. Centers Sidney Crosby (head/neck) and center Tyler Kennedy (ankle) are on injured reserve. For the Avalanche, right winger Chuck Kobasew (back) is day to day. Defenseman Ryan O'Byrne (knee) is on injured reserve.
Potential lines and defensive pairings: The Penguins primary lines and defensive pairings at today's morning skate were: (PG+)
Chris Kunitz - Evgeni Malkin - James Neal
Steve Sullivan - Jordan Staal - Pascal Dupuis
Matt Cooke - Joe Vitale - Richard Park
Eric Tangradi - Craig Adams - Arron Asham
-The defensemen rotated. Consider this a guess at the pairings:
Deryk Engelland - Paul Martin
Zbynek Michalek - Brooks Orpik
Matt Niskanen - Ben Lovejoy
-The Avalanche held an optional skate today. Their primary lines and defensive pairings against the Blue Jackets Thursday were
Matt Duchene - Paul Statsny - Milan Hejduk
Gabriel Landeskog - Ryan O'Reilly - Steve Downie
David Jones - Mark Olver - Jamie McGinn
Cody McLeod - Jay McClement - Peter Mueller
Jan Hejda - Ryan Wilson
Shane O'Brien - Erik Johnson
Matt Hunwick - Stefan Elliott
Notes:
-The last time the Penguins played the Avalanche, this happened:
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-This too:
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-Neal has 198 career points.
-Malkin has 497 career points and 195 career goals.
-In addition to being a former inmate at Oswald State Correctional Facility, O'Reilly is the younger brother of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins forward Cal O'Reilly.
-Today is radio broadcaster Mike Lange's 64th birthday. The Penguins are 5-8-1 all-time on this date.
-There are three active former Hartford Whalers draft picks still active in the NHL. Two - Adams and Giguere - are playing tonight. The other is Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger.
-Our live blog begins at approximately 8:45 p.m. Please tune in.
(Photo: Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)