Penguins at Panthers
THE STORY: Ray Shero remains confident in his team, so much so that the Pittsburgh Penguins general manager guaranteed that the struggling club would make the postseason. “We're making the playoffs, put it that way,” Shero told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “Anything less is unacceptable. ... Just making the playoffs is never our goal.” After watching his injury-riddled team score six goals during its current six-game losing skid, Shero had better hope that Pittsburgh locates its offense on Friday when it visits the Florida Panthers. The Penguins are coming off their first shutout loss of the season with a 1-0 setback to the Washington Capitals on Wednesday. C Evgeni Malkin, who is the Penguins’ lone All-Star representative, has virtually been the team's only source of offense as of late. He has secured at least a point in 17 of his last 22 contests. Southeast Division-leading Florida skated to a 2-1 home triumph over the Vancouver Canucks on Monday after the latter was coming off their intense Stanley Cup rematch with the Boston Bruins. The victory was just the Panthers' third in nine games.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, ROOT, FSFL
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (21-17-4): The lone bright spot for Pittsburgh is the return of Sidney Crosby (concussion-like symptoms) ... well, to practice anyway. Coach Dan Bylsma announced that the captain will join his mates during the team's trip through the Sunshine State, although Crosby is not expected to return to game action any time soon. G Marc-Andre Fleury, who has seen action in all six contests during the skid, has won his last three starts versus Florida.
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (21-13-8): D Brian Campbell was selected to his fourth All-Star Game appearance – and first with Florida. Campbell entered Thursday's action second in the NHL among defensemen with 33 points. For his part, C Marcel Goc has certainly returned to the ice with a flourish. After being sidelined 22 contests with a concussion, Goc has two goals and two assists during his current three-game points streak. After assisting on D Dmitry Kulikov's goal, Goc netted the eventual game-winner versus the Canucks.
OVERTIME:
1. Penguins D Simon Despres will be sidelined two to four weeks with a Grade 1 MCL tear. Despres was injured on Wednesday while playing in place of blue-liner Paul Martin (sickness).
2. Florida has certainly been feisty at home, collecting points in 16 of 20 games (11-4-5). The Panthers also skated to a 3-2 home victory over the Penguins on Nov. 19.