Oct 17, 2009 11:16 am US/Eastern
Lightning Vs. Penguins Preview
By: Sergei J. Feldman
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
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Penguins captain Sidney Crosby.
Justin K. Aller/Getty Images
Before Saturday's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Pittsburgh Penguins may need to arrange for a tour of their own house.
After all, the team hasn't played in the familiar confines of Mellon Arena for 10 days, as they've been too busy knocking off opponents and earning points on their most recent four-game undefeated road trip.
But if the sights and sounds of the National Hockey League's oldest building won't register with the team immediately, they'll at least have plenty of time to become reacquainted.
Six of Pittsburgh's next seven games will be played at The Igloo, including five consecutive games.
Thus far, Pittsburgh has taken advantage of, for all practical purposes, a makeshift schedule, as the February Olympic break threw a chink in the schedule-maker's armor, highlighted by consecutive road and home challenges for all 30 NHL teams.
Pittsburgh will have an opportunity to widen its lead against other Eastern Conference opponents on this upcoming homestand, and establish itself as a difficult team to beat, irrespective of geographical locale.
Against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Penguins will need to be on top of their game from the very start.
Tampa Bay is coming off an embarrassing 7-1 thrashing at the hands of the Ottawa Senators. Rest assured, they'll be looking to bounce back against the defending champions, if only to test their character.
Highlighting tonight's game will be the visit of former Penguin and Pittsburgh native Ryan Malone, but the star-power won't stop there.
Tampa Bay will hope lightning will strike against the Penguins every time Vincent Lecavalier or Martin St. Louis take the ice.
Those stars will be complemented by last year's first-overall pick, Steven Stamkos and this year's second-overall pick, Victor Hedman.
For the Penguins, they will look to get some production, if you can believe it, from their top players.
Captain Sidney Crosby is coming off two games in which he's been kept off the scoresheet.
Crosby, traditionally viewed as a playmaker, has only one assist on the year, but is tied for most goals on the team with four.
He is also a little bit too familiar with Tampa Bay, the opponent on the ice when he succumbed to his first major injury of his NHL career.
Last season, the Penguins played two significant games against Tampa Bay.
In the first one, the Penguins came back from a three-goal deficit in the third period to propel itself to one of the many season-saving streaks the team bumped into last season.
In the second, the Penguins clinched a playoff spot.
What tonight's game will come to mean is unknown.
What is known is that there are two important points on the line at Mellon Arena tonight, whether Pittsburgh remembers how to get there or not.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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