Penguins at Senators
THE STORY: Friday's contest involving the Pittsburgh Penguins and host Ottawa Senators is headlined by the stars who will occupy the press box rather than the ice. The Penguins are missing the face of the league in Sidney Crosby, while Ottawa is dealing with the absence of Milan Michalek, who led the NHL with 19 goals at the time of his injury. Both stars are dealing with concussion-like symptoms, although Michalek is likely to return at a quicker pace following his collision with a teammate. Ottawa coach Paul MacLean noted that Michalek was feeling better for the second straight day and was back on the exercise bike Thursday. For his part, Penguins coach Dan Bylsma knows a thing or two about concussions since Crosby has company in that camp with stud defenseman Kris Letang and fellow blue-liner Zbynek Michalek, Milan's brother. “You just don’t know if a guy is going to be one week, two weeks, or out longer,” Bylsma said. “That uncertainty makes it tough to plan in terms of down the road.” Pittsburgh dropped its third game in four outings Tuesday when it fell flat in a 4-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings. Ottawa is coming off a 5-2 setback to the Northeast Division rival Boston Bruins on Wednesday.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, ROOT, RSNE
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (17-10-4): With his next victory, Marc-Andre Fleury will become the fifth-fastest goalie in the modern era to reach 200 career victories. He may not have that chance on Friday. Fleury (7-8-1) has struggled versus the Senators in his career, while understudy Brent Johnson is a whopping 8-1-1 with a 1.99 goals-against average against the residents of Canada's capital city. Fleury will likely sit out against the Senators before facing the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.
ABOUT THE SENATORS (14-14-4): Daniel Alfredsson assumed Michalek's spot on the first line and collected a goal and an assist on Wednesday. The captain has recorded three goals and seven assists in his last 11 games and has 55 points in 59 career contests versus the Penguins. Former – and now current – linemate Jason Spezza also had a goal and assist, giving him three multi-point games in his last four contests.
OVERTIME:
1. Sidelined since Nov. 26, Zbynek Michalek is hopeful to play versus Ottawa, but admitted Thursday that he still is plagued with the occasional concussion-related headache.
2. Senators G Craig Anderson fell to 2-4-1 in December after yielding five goals against the Bruins. He gave up four goals in nine minutes before receiving the hook in the Penguins' 6-3 win on Nov. 25.