The Penguins head into Atlanta to take on the Thrashers having gone 6-2-2 in their last ten games. The Thrashers have gone 5-5-0 in their last ten but are in the middle of a 4-1-0 streak over their last five games. Atlanta may not be amongst the league’s elite, but that doesn’t mean that they haven’t found recent success against the Penguins, especially at home. The Thrashers have posted a 5-1-0 record at Phillips Arena in six games since the lockout.

This is the first of four meetings between the two teams this season and it should be an exciting one. As I mentioned above, each team is playing some good hockey over it’s past five to ten games. Look for this game to be a lot more wide open than the one we witnessed Tuesday night at Mellon Arena against the Minnesota Wild.

The Penguins may come into this game with most of the star power in the form of Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby, but Atlanta has a handful of dynamic forwards who can put the puck in the net. That all starts with one of the league’s best goal scorers, Ilya Kovalchuk. The Russian superstar had a much-publicized run in with Crosby a couple seasons back, but that isn’t how he hurts you. Sure he occasionally comes across as cocky on the ice, but that’s because he can be! He has a Rocket Richard trophy under his belt and has six seasons of 29 goals or better, including twice scoring over 40 and twice scoring 52. He is a very dangerous player and has single handedly won games for his team.

Brian Little, the team’s 2006 first round draft pick, has broken onto the scene in a big way this season. He is currently leading the team in scoring with 17 points and he has combined with Todd White and Slava Kozlov to form a pretty impressive trio.

The Penguins will also have to contend with a couple former mates. Erik Christensen and Colby Armstrong skate a regular shift for the Thrashers, with Christensen spending much of the time on the top line alongside Kovalchuk. The duo went over to Atlanta in the Marian Hossa trade last February. Each will want to show their former team exactly why the Atlanta Thrashers wanted them as part of the package.

Look for Phillipe Boucher to play an even bigger role for the Penguins tonight. He did a fine job in all situations Tuesday evening and brought a nice dimension to the power play. His big shot will most likely be on display this evening, along with his crisp break out pass and attention to detail in all facets of the game.

Dany Sabourin will once again be in the cage for the Penguins, as Marc Andre Fleury is still out with an undisclosed lower body injury. Look for him to turn in another strong performance, as he watched what could have been a 1-0 shut out victory on Tuesday turn into a 2-1 shoot out loss.

Speaking of Fleury, his injury may keep him out of action through the weekend. At this point, Sabourin is capable of filling in for a couple games and the Penguins should allow Fleury time to get back to 100%.

I will be back later tonight with post game analysis and information.

Game Notes:

Matt Cooke’s five-game point streak (2G-3A) is a new career high. His previous points streak was four games which he accomplished five times in his career while playing with Vancouver. Cooke ranks seventh in the NHL with 56 hits.

Dany Sabourin stopped 24 shots in the 2-1 loss to the Wild, marking his fourth start of the season. He has stopped 14 of 16 (.875%) shooters in four shootouts this season, ranking second only behind Henrik Lundqvist’s .917 percent.

Rob Scuderi leads the team in blocked shots (50) and averages 4:08 in shorthanded ice time.

Mike Zigomanis currently leads the NHL, winning 64.2 percent of his faceoffs. He has won 25 of 39 faceoffs (64%) over his last three games. The Penguins are currently ranked seventh in the NHL, winning percentage of 52.2 percent.

The Penguins are off to their best start since the 1992-93 season. The Penguins have posted an 11-4-3 record with 25 points through 18 games. Their 25 points this season ties them with the third best start in franchise history. The ‘92-93 team, who won the Presidents’ Trophy, started the season 12-3-3.

Milestone Watch:

Pascal Dupuis is nine assists shy of reaching 100 in his career.
Petr Sykora needs four power-play goals to reach 100 in his career
Marc-Andre Fleury is four wins away from tying Denis Herron for third all-time in wins (88) among Penguins’ goalies.
Mark Eaton is two games shy of appearing in 400 games in his career.
Jordan Staal is two goals shy of reaching 50 in his career and his 19 games shy of playing in his 200th career game.
Rob Scuderi needs two penalty minutes to reach 100 in his career.
Miroslav Satan is five goals shy of reaching 350 in his career.
Matt Cooke is three games shy of playing in his 600th career game.
Philippe Boucher is nine goals shy of reaching 100 for his career.
Kris Letang is 12 games shy of playing in his 100th NHL game.

Penguins Youtube of the Day:

Kovy and Sid begin the feud...