Stars at Penguins
THE STORY: Quality goaltending is expected to be on
display on Friday when the teams with the most points in their
respective conferences collide in the Steel City. Pittsburgh Penguins
netminder Marc-Andre Fleury sports an unblemished record in four career
starts against the Dallas Stars, who will counter with Kari Lehtonen.
The soon-to-be 28-year-old Finn has won 11 of 12 decisions this season -
including all five on the road. Lehtonen has written off the Pens to
the tune of a 7-3-2 career mark. The Stars will vie for their fifth
straight victory overall and fourth consecutive on the road against
Pittsburgh. "It's a good measuring stick for us," Dallas coach Glen
Gulutzan said. "We're trying to gauge ourselves against the league,
coming into (and defeating) Washington and then going to Pittsburgh and
Detroit. We feel this is going to be a real good measuring stick."
Dallas has won the first two contests of its current four-game trek away
from the Lone Star State. The Stars will wrap up the trip in Hockeytown
on Saturday.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSSW, ROOT
ABOUT THE STARS (11-3-0): Jamie Benn and Loui Eriksson
have practiced their 2-on-1 skills via the video game "NHL 12". Benn has
recorded a team-high 18 points and is riding high with a six-game point
streak, collecting three goals and eight assists in the process. For
his part, Eriksson extended his streak to five games, notching three
goals and six assists. Eriksson's recent surge landed him the NHL's
second star of the week.
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (9-3-3): Coach Dan Bylsma confirmed
that superstar Sidney Crosby will not play in the team's next two games.
That rules out the 2007 NHL MVP for Friday's contest as well as
Saturday's tilt versus the Carolina Hurricanes. He may return for Tuesday's game
versus the Colorado Avalanche. While
Crosby won't be back Friday, LW Tyler Kennedy may take the ice after a
nine-game absence with concussion-like symptoms. He is a game-time
decision for Friday's contest.
OVERTIME:
1. Dallas' Steve Ott will miss Friday's game - as well as Saturday's tilt versus the Red Wings - with a hip pointer.
2. Pittsburgh RW James Neal isn't shy about shooting the rubber.
Entering Thursday's action, Neal led the league with 64 shots on goal.
"I'm just getting good chances, shooting the puck well, skating well,"
Neal said. "It just comes with the way you're playing. When you're
getting chances, you're getting shots."