Wild at Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins' light-scoring offense has forced the club to walk a thin line this season. After winning nine of 10 games despite limited goal support, the Penguins' fortunes have taken a turn for the worse on Tuesday as they look to prevent their fourth loss in five outings when they host the Minnesota Wild.
Pittsburgh has mustered just 2.06 goals per contest this season and failed to make a dent against Cory Schneider in a 4-0 setback to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday. Evgeni Malkin voiced his displeasure after the game by saying the club was "mad at each other," but clarified his comments two days later to note that the Penguins were frustrated with their inability to get anything going. Minnesota owns a 3-0-1 mark in its last four and has split a pair of 3-2 overtime decisions to begin its four-game road trip. Defenseman Jared Spurgeon is riding a five-game point streak (one goal, five assists), but has yet to record a point in four career meetings with Pittsburgh.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBCSN, ROOT (Pittsburgh)
ABOUT THE WILD (10-3-3): Coach Mike Yeo has had a revolving door on his fourth line, and it appears Brett Bulmer will be the latest to walk through on Tuesday. "I'd say there is a better chance he plays (against Pittsburgh)," Yeo said after Bulmer was a spectator in Saturday's loss to Central Division rival Dallas. "... There's a certain way we have to play that game and it's not going to be an easy thing to do. I'm anxious to see if he can fit into it." Captain Mikko Koivu has been producing at a strong clip, recording an assist in each of his last three games and notching at least a point in 13 of his last 16.
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (10-7-0): While Malkin's comments caused a stir, captain Sidney Crosby was rather direct with his feelings on Monday. "I have no doubt in my mind that we will respond the right way," said Crosby, who had four assists last season as Pittsburgh outscored Minnesota by an 11-3 margin to sweep the two-game series. Marc-Andre Fleury hasn't been as fortunate versus the Wild, winning just one of six career appearances while yielding a 3.43 goals-against average.
OVERTIME
1. Minnesota's 23 points are tied with the 2008-09 club (11-4-1) for the most in franchise history after 16 games.
2. Pittsburgh is 0-for-13 on the power play in the last three contests to drop its efficiency to a 29th-ranked 12.3 percent.
3. Wild LW Zach Parise skated on Monday for the first time since suffering a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee earlier this month.