Penguins at Bruins
Mike Sullivan barely had a chance to get his feet wet as the Pittsburgh Penguins' new coach before being presented with his first major hurdle. Sullivan will look to overcome the losses of franchise goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and oft-injured forward Beau Bennett on Wednesday, when the visiting Penguins open a home-and-home series with the Boston Bruins.
Jeff Zatkoff will get the nod versus Boston in place of Fleury, who is in the midst of concussion protocol following a 30-save performance in Pittsburgh's 4-1 setback to Metropolitan Division-rival Washington on Monday. While the Penguins have dropped six of their last eight (2-3-3), Boston recorded a point for the 11th time in 12 contests (8-1-3) with Monday's 3-2 overtime loss to Edmonton. Veteran forward Patrice Bergeron, who notched an assist to extend his point streak to five games (one goal, five assists), knows the importance of this home-and-home set. "When you play the same team twice, especially a team like Pittsburgh that's close to us, you want to make sure you keep pushing them back - and playing two games in a row, it's a big four points," Bergeron said.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBCSN
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (15-11-3): Bennett is expected to miss four-to-six weeks with an upper-body ailment after he was shaken up during the first period by a hit from Capitals forward T.J. Oshie. The 24-year-old Bennett has endured several key injuries since being selected with the 20th overall pick of the 2010 draft. With stud defenseman Kris Letang (undisclosed) placed on injured reserve Tuesday, Pittsburgh recalled forwards Kevin Porter and Conor Sheary, as well as goaltender Matt Murray, from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League.
ABOUT THE BRUINS (16-9-4): Brad Marchand scored for the second straight contest on Monday and fifth time in six games to increase his team-leading goal total to 15. While the speedy Marchand is light on his skates, David Pastrnak has been slow in his recovery from a broken foot. Sidelined for over a month, the 19-year-old Pastrnak skated with the team for the second straight day on Tuesday - although no formal timetable for his return has been declared.
OVERTIME
1. Boston G Tuukka Rask has yielded 12 goals during his last eight games (6-0-2).
2. Penguins C Evgeni Malkin, who has scored a goal in back-to-back contests, has recorded 30 points (14 tallies, 16 assists) in 26 career meetings with the Bruins.
3. Sullivan served as Boston's coach from 2003-06.