Hurricanes at Penguins
THE STORY: The Pittsburgh Penguins are approaching the one-year
anniversary of the hit that started Sidney Crosby’s concussion problems
from last year’s Winter Classic. While the team would certainly be
better off if Crosby had played in more than nine total games since that
day, a quick look at the standings and the stat columns shows a strong
club with or without its captain. The Penguins rode three straight wins
into the holiday break, keeping themselves within a handful of points
from the top of the Eastern Conference. Also riding an unlikely surge is
a team much closer to the bottom of the East, the Carolina Hurricanes,
who will visit Pittsburgh on Tuesday. The Hurricanes have won two games
in a row sandwiched around the break to pull out of last place in the
conference.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Carolina (Carolina), ROOT Sports (Pittsburgh)
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (20-11-4): Crosby and defenseman Kris Letang
remain out indefinitely with concussion symptoms but Pittsburgh has
found plenty of players capable of picking up the slack, namely James
Neal and Evgeni Malkin. Neal scored his 20th goal in a 4-1 victory over
Winnipeg before the break and has tallied in each of the last three
games to extend his points streak to seven. Malkin has been even better,
putting up 16 points in the last seven contests.
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (12-19-6):
Carolina had dropped 11 of 13 games since last posting back-to-back
victories Nov. 20-21, falling into last place in the conference behind
the New York Islanders. But Cam Ward, who has struggled mightily in
goal, found some of his All-Star form in a 2-1 overtime victory over the
Ottawa Senators on Friday and carried it over to Monday, making 23
saves in a 4-2 victory over New Jersey. Ward was also credited with an empty-net goal when Ilya Kovalchuk's errant pass went into the New Jersey net. Ward was the last Carolina player to touch the puck. Tuomo Ruutu has sparked the
offense with points in five straight games.
OVERTIME:
1. The Penguins will again be without defenseman Deryk Engelland, who was suspended three games for a hit to the head Thursday.
2. The teams split two meetings this season, with the Penguins earning a 3-2 victory in the most recent matchup Dec. 3.
3. Ruutu has eight points - four goals - in 16 career games against Pittsburgh.