Preview: Tampa Bay Lightning @ Pittsburgh Penguins

Game Time: 7:30pm/ET
From: Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh, PA
Penguins Record: 24-23-5 (10th in Eastern Conference)
Flyers Record: 17-24-10 (12th in Eastern Conference)
Last Meeting:
December 23rd, 2008 @ Pittsburgh (2-0 Lightning)

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PITTSBURGH PENGUINS LINE COMBINATIONS:
Matt Cooke - Sidney Crosby - Evgeni Malkin
Luca Caputi - Jordan Staal - Petr Sykora
Chris Minard - Maxime Talbot - Tyler Kennedy
Pascal Dupuis - Bill Thomas - Eric Godard

Brooks Opik - Rob Scuderi
Mark Eaton - Kris Letang
Alex Goligoski - Ryan Whitney

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS PROBABLE GOALTENDER:
Marc-Andre Fleury (16-13-3 / 2.85 GAA / .910 SV%)

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS INJURIES:
Sergei Gonchar (left shoulder surgery) - on injured reserve
Mike Zigomanis (shoulder) - on injured reserve
Ruslan Fedotenko (broken right hand) - on injured reserve

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS LEADERS:
GOALS: Evgeni Malkin (22)
ASSISTS: Evgeni Malkin (54)
POINTS: Evgeni Malkin (76)
+/-: Evgeni Malkin (+16)

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TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING LINE COMBINATIONS:
Vaclav Prospal - Vincent Lecavalier - Martin St. Louis
Ryan Malone - Jeff Halpern - Evgeny Artyukhin
Steve Downie - Steven Stamkos - Mark Recchi
Gary Roberts - Ryan Craig - Adam Hall

Andrej Meszaros - Paul Ranger
Steve Eminger - Lukas Krajicek
Cory Murphy - Matt Smaby

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING PROBABLE GOALTENDER:
Mike McKenna (0-0-0 / 0.00 GAA / 1.000 SV%)

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING INJURIES:
Jamie Heward (concussion) - on injured reserve
Paul Szczechura (lower body) - on injured reserve
Marek Malik (ankle) - on injured reserve
Mike Smith (upper body) - on injured reserve
Olaf Kolzig (left biceps tendon surgery) - on injured reserve, out for season

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING LEADERS:
GOALS: Vincent Lecavalier (23)
ASSISTS: Martin St. Louis (30)
POINTS: Martin St. Louis (48)
+/-: Martin St. Louis (+6)

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Miroslav Satan will be a healthy scratch tonight. I have to say that's a good move. He has not been performing recently and the last thing the Penguins need is another defensively liability. If he was scoring goals his lack of defensive hockey would be overlooked but he's not. Scoring goals is his only job and he's not doing it, so benching him makes sense.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't excited about Gary Roberts return tonight. This may be the last time Roberts steps into the Igloo, so I hope he gets a large ovation. When he left I assumed that his veteran leadership was no longer required, but I was wrong. Gary Roberts is the exact kind of player the Penguins need right now. He works hard every single night and, even at his age, he's always a factor. I wish he'd come back and finish his career in the 'Burgh.

Mike McKenna will be in net for the Lightning. He played in his first NHL game last night, stepping in in relief.

If the Penguins lose this game it is very bad news. Their schedule only gets tougher from here on out. The upcoming Western Conference games against Columbus, Detroit and San Jose will likely not be pretty. They then finish off the month with games against Toronto, Montreal, Philadelphia and the Islanders. Outside of that last one, all of those teams have given them trouble this year.

It's another must win tonight.

Prediction: 4-2 Penguins