Hurricanes at Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins conclude their stretch of playing six of seven games at home when they welcome the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday. Metropolitan Division-leading Pittsburgh went 1-3-0 on a four-game homestand, needing overtime for its only victory, before edging the Blue Jackets 2-1 in Columbus. The Penguins returned home to post a 4-1 triumph over Chicago as James Neal and Lee Stempniak scored 21 seconds apart midway through the first period before captain Sidney Crosby tallied twice in the third.
While Pittsburgh is all but locked into the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, Carolina remains mathematically alive for a postseason berth. The Hurricanes find themselves trailing Columbus by seven points for the second wild-card spot in the East after suffering a 2-1 shootout loss at Ottawa on Monday. The Penguins look to complete a sweep of the four-game season series after outscoring Carolina 12-6 over the first three meetings.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN (Carolina), ROOT (Pittsburgh)
ABOUT THE HURRICANES (32-32-11): Jeff Skinner netted the lone tally for Carolina on Monday to extend his goal-scoring streak to four games. It was the team-leading 30th of the season for the 21-year-old, who is one goal shy of matching his career high set as a rookie in 2010-11. Jiri Tlusty is questionable for Tuesday's contest after suffering an upper-body injury when he was boarded by defenseman Eric Gryba in Ottawa.
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (48-22-5): Crosby is on his way to the second Art Ross Trophy of his already-illustrious career as he leads the league with 99 points, including an NHL-high 63 assists. The 26-year-old also captured the award when he registered 120 points in 2006-07. Defenseman Paul Martin participated in the team's full practice on Monday for the first time since suffering a broken hand while playing for Team USA at the Winter Olympics and is eyeing a return to the lineup Saturday in Minnesota.
OVERTIME
1. Penguins C Joe Vitale, who has missed five games with a mid-body injury, also practiced Monday.
2. Carolina captain Eric Staal has scored just one goal in his last 16 contests.
3. Pittsburgh begins a three-game road trip Thursday in Winnipeg before finishing the regular season with three at home.