Penguins at Lightning
THE STORY: Tampa Bay has been a far better team at home so far. The Lightning have just three wins in 11 games on the road, while winning five of six at the St. Pete Times Forum. The Lightning will get another test Thursday when the Eastern Conference-leading Pittsburgh Penguins come to town. Dwayne Roloson is expected to start in goal for Tampa Bay, which is coming off losses at St. Louis and Winnipeg. The Penguins, who lost to the Lightning in the first round of the playoffs last season, have won three of their last four. Sidney Crosby is close to making his season debut, but is not expected to play for the Pens.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NHL Network, ROOT (Pittsburgh), SunSports (Tampa).
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (11-4-3): Evgeni Malkin has raised his game a few more notches of late. Malkin has recorded four goals and five assists his last six games, including a goal and an assist in the 6-3 victory over Colorado Tuesday. James Neal hasn’t stopped scoring either, with three goals in three games and 12 overall. Jordan Staal may be playing the best hockey of his career, sitting on nine goals and sharing the team lead at plus-6. Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury is second in the league in wins (10).
ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (8-7-2): Tampa Bay could be without two top-six forwards. Ryan Malone is doubtful with an upper-body injury and Teddy Purcell was held out of practice Wednesday with an illness. Their big guns will have to carry the load. Steven Stamkos leads the team with 11 goals and 18 points and Marty St. Louis has 15 points and a team-best plus-7. They will need more from Steve Downie, who is a team-worst minus-12 after leading the team the last two seasons. He has no goals since opening night.
OVERTIME:
1. Pittsburgh leads the league in penalty killing (94.2 percent) through Tuesday, allowing just three goals – two in one game.
2. Kris Letang of Pittsburgh and Marc-Andre Bergeron of Tampa Bay both have 16 points, among the league leaders in scoring for defensemen.
3. The Lightning operate at a 26.3-percent clip on the power play at home and just 9.8 on the road.