Penguins at Panthers
The Pittsburgh Penguins appear to have solved some of the problems that caused them to lose four times in five games earlier in the month. The Penguins have earned points in six of their last seven contests as they prepare to visit the Florida Panthers on Saturday. Evgeni Malkin has collected 13 points during a seven-game point streak and captain Sidney Crosby has recorded 11 over the same stretch for Pittsburgh, which gave up its highest goal total of the season in a 6-3 loss at Florida on Oct. 11.
The Penguins recorded a 3-0 win at Tampa Bay on Friday afternoon after grinding out a 6-5 shootout victory over Toronto two days earlier. “A lot different (than last game),” Penguins center Brandon Sutter told the Pittsburgh Gazette. “We did a much better job of limiting turnovers. We did a much better job coming out of our zone.” The Panthers are 4-5-1 since Peter Horachek took over as coach, replacing Kevin Dineen.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, ROOT (Pittsburgh), FSN (Florida)
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (17-9-1): Marc-Andre Fleury rebounded from a 3-5-1 slump to post his third shutout on Friday, foiling several quality scoring chances by the Lightning. Crosby had three assists to give him 701 career points – including a league-leading 36 this season, with Malkin tied for second at 31. Matt Niskanen and the injured Paul Martin lead Pittsburgh's defense with 11 points while Kris Letang has struggled with only nine in 18 games after producing 80 in 86 contests the last two seasons.
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (7-14-5): Scottie Upshall has seen improvement in his production since the coaching change, recording eight points over the last eight contests. Reigning Calder Trophy winner Jonathan Huberdeau continues to struggle offensively with only two goals since mid-October and 11 points overall – none in the last five games. Tim Thomas has posted a .912 save percentage while starting all 10 contests under Horachek and has won each of the four games in which he allowed two or fewer goals.
OVERTIME
1. Florida is last in the league on the power play with a 10 percent success rate after finishing sixth last season (20.4).
2. The Penguins are 8-for-19 on the power play over the last six games. LW Chris Kunitz has scored a team-high five goals with the man advantage.
3. Florida C Nick Bjugstad, 21, has three goals and seven assists in 20 games along with a plus-3 rating.