Lightning at Penguins
THE STORY: The Tampa Bay Lightning’s Steven Stamkos and Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins come into their final meeting this season tied for the league lead with 73 points. Stamkos has six goals in his last four games as he tries to keep the Lightning in the playoff chase. Malkin has six goals and eight assists in nine contests with Pittsburgh in a four-way battle for fourth place in the Eastern Conference. The Penguins have beaten Tampa Bay in two of three meetings this season.
TV: 1 p.m. ET; NHL Network-US, SunSports (Tampa), ROOT (Pittsburgh).
ABOUT THE LIGHTNING (27-27-6): Stamkos has 43 goals to lead Malkin by 10 for the Rocket Richard Trophy. He rebounded from two scoreless games with 11 points in the last four. The Lightning has 10 of the next 12 contests at home after this weekend, but they need to get points against Pittsburgh and New Jersey on Sunday after their three-game win streak was snapped Thursday in Winnipeg. Teddy Purcell has remained hot with 14 points in nine games. Defenseman Victor Hedman has played at least 25 minutes in eight straight games, recording five assists and an impressive plus-7.
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (34-21-5): Pittsburgh’s special teams have come through big time in February. The Penguins have killed off 30 of 31 penalties in 10 games and have eight power-play goals in 26 opportunities over the last nine. James Neal had two of his 13 goals with the man advantage against Tampa Bay on Jan. 15, but has just one since. Malkin has three of his eight power-play goals this month. Defenseman Brooks Orpik is questionable with an upper-body injury. Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury earned his 22nd career shutout on Tuesday, tying him with Tom Barrasso for the most in franchise history.
OVERTIME:
1. The Lightning had two power-play goals Thursday, the first time they had scored more than one since Nov. 17 against Pittsburgh.
2. Pittsburgh has 13 of the last 22 games at home, where it is 18-8-2.
3. Tampa Bay’s Martin St. Louis needs one goal to reach 20 for the ninth straight season.