Pens (30-10, 14-5 Road) at Tampa Bay (17-20-2, 11-7-2 Home), The Forum, 7:30 pm ET
Is this the game Malkin finds his mojo?
The Penguins have as many sub-plots going on right now as a Charles Dickens novel. Sidney Crosby still doesn’t have a timetable, Jarome Iginla and Brenden Morrow are looking to blend in with their new teammates after long, storied, one-team careers, the defense is missing ice-time leaders Kris Letang and Paul Martin. Many fans want to know why Simon Despres doesn’t play more often.
None of those issues will likely be tackled by the end of Thursday’s Pens-Bolt’s contest, but one great area of concern could be: Evgeni Malkin and his lack of a true breakout game that puts him back on the path deserving of a Hart Trophy winner.
When Malkin is playing his game, he swoops into the offensive zone, around the cage, up into section 110 and then back down for a breath-taking goal. He got on the board for his seventh goal Tuesday, but he’ll be the first person to say that his back-handed shovel, while opportunistic, wasn’t necessarily his best goal ever.
That’s not to say he didn’t have a good game against Carolina. He did. But what Penguins fans are looking for is a Malkin signature moment.
He’s had a few of those against the Lightning, see
here,
here, and
here.
Pittsburgh has clinched the Atlantic Division, at least a No. 2 seed in the East, will likely get Sidney Crosby back before the playoffs and could see Kris Letang man the blue line as soon as tonight.
But Thursday is all about putting Evgeni Malkin back on the superstar path. He’s playing against a team he’s scored nine goals and 13 points against in the last four games. There's even a star opponent, Vincent Lecavalier, to serve as his nemesis.
The game is set up as a breakout for Malkin. Linemate Jarome Iginla better get ready.
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Pens-Bolts Game Notes
Thursday starter, Tomas Vokoun, holds a 14-8-1 career record with a 2.69 GAA and .915 save percentage against the Lightning. Vokoun has won six of seven road decisions with the Penguins in 2013.
The Penguins have won both meetings between the two teams in 2013: 5-3 on Feb. 24 and 4-3, March 4. Both games were held in Pittsburgh.
Rookie Beau Bennett scored his first NHL goal against the Lightning in the February game. It proved to be the game-winning goal, too.
Kris Letang participated fully in Pittsburgh’s practice Wednesday. He’s played in only one game since March 17.
Tampa Bay has shuffled its roster since the last meeting. Gone is rookie Cory Conacher, who scored a goal against Pittsburgh. He was traded to Ottawa for goalie Ben Bishop.
Bishop has started his team’s last four games, going 2-2 with a 2.02 GAA, .944 save percentage and one shutout.
Bishop is expected in goal again Thursday.
Steven Stamkos is gaining on Sidney Crosby for the Art Ross Trophy. Stamkos trails Crosby by six points, 56 to 50. The Lightning sniper has 26 goals and 24 assists in 50 games. Crosby, who hasn’t played since March 30, has 15 goals and 41 helpers in 36 contests.
Ryan Malone is expected to play Thursday following an extended absence with a shoulder injury. He actually returned to the lineup Tuesday for the first time since March 18. Malone has four points (2G, 2A) in 12 games against the Pens.
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Pens-Bolts: By the Numbers
Goals For/Against
Pens: 3.22-2.45 (per game)
Bolts: 3.15-2.92
Pens are first in scoring while Tampa Bay ranks third.
5-on-5 For/Against
Pens: 1.35
Bolts: 1.17
Pens are second and the Lightning, seventh, in 5-on-5 play.
Power Play
Pens: 20.9 percent, 14-of-67 (road)
Bolts: 22.2 percent, 18-for-81 (home)
The Penguins rank fifth on the road PP and the Lightning, 11 at home.
Penalty Kill
Pens: 76.6 percent, 59-for-77 (road)
Bolts: 82.8 percent, 53-for-64 (home)
Pittsburgh’s PK is 23rd on the road while Tampa Bay’s is 17th at home.
Hits-Blocked Shots-Missed Shots-Giveaways-Takeaways
Pens: 500 hits—290 Blocks—242 Missed Shots—156 Giveaways—102 Takeaways (road)
Bolts: 474 hits—288 Blocks—209 Missed Shots—191 Giveaways—150 Takeaways (home)
The only area either of these teams rank in top 5 or bottom 5 is giveaways. The Penguins have the 4th most road giveaways in the league.
Record Outshooting Opponent/Record When Outshot
Pens: 19-4/10-5
Bolts: 7-6-1/9-12-1
Pens are strong either way. Pittsburgh’s 1-1 when shots are tied, Tampa Bay; 1-2.
Penalties
Pens: 11.2 minutes/game
Bolts: 11.6
Both teams are in the middle of the pack with penalty minutes.
Record Leading After 1st Pd/2nd Pd – Record Trailing After 1st Pd/2nd Pd
Pens: 16-3/15-0 – 4-5/4-8
Bolts: 13-2/11-2 – 1-10-2/2-15-2
The Lightning has a better winning percentage when leading after 1st Pd than the Pens. Tampa Bay also holds the fourth-worst winning percentage (.077%) when trailing after the 1st Pd. In other words, whichever team is winning after 20 minutes will likely win the contest.
Record When Scoring First/Trailing First
Pens: 20-5/10-5
Bolts: 13-5/4-15-2
First goal means much more to Tampa Bay than it does to Pittsburgh.
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Tweets ‘O the Day
Pittsburgh Penguins @penguins
Optional skate for #Pens. Those taking part: 17 46 5 41 10 2 12 29 92 36 47 15 58 48 16 27 19
Josh Yohe @JoshYohe_Trib
Stamkos: "I'm not worried about the scoring title. I want Sid to get healthy just like everyone else does."
Dave Molinari @MolinariPG 3m
Vokoun off first, expected to start.
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Here’s a link to the latest
30 Thoughts by Elliotte Friedman.
I tweeted how Roberto Luongo seemed a little too magnanimous on deadline day, when he said he would basically rip up his expensive contract if he could. Mr. Friedman addresses that issue with Thought no. 12.
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Treasure Life!
JT
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • 
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