Pittsburgh Penguins Gameday Skate: Fight To The Finish Starts At Home
By Matt Gajtka
Feb 7, 2014; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) talks to center Evgeni Malkin (71) during a time-out against the New York Rangers in the second period at the CONSOL Energy Center. The Rangers won 4-3 in a shootout. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
By the time the Pittsburgh Penguins line up against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night at Consol Energy Center, 20 days will have passed since their previous game, a 4-3 home shootout loss to the Rangers on Feb. 7.
In the interim, seven Penguins skated for their native countries at the Sochi Olympics, while others took the ice in the AHL or enjoyed some relaxation before getting back to practice late last week.
But no matter how the Pens spent the past three weeks, their focus will be back on the NHL schedule at 7 p.m. Eastern time. Because of the Olympic break, the slate will be more compact than usual at this time of year, as Pittsburgh will play their final 24 regular-season matches in a 46-day span.
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In case math isn’t your strongest subject, that’s an average of a game every 1.92 days. As part of that busy stretch, the Penguins will face five back-to-back situations and five separate road trips. The first of those journeys is also the longest; it will send the club to Chicago for this Saturday’s Stadium Series game and on to Nashville, San Jose, Anaheim and Washington.
Later in March – which features 16 games – the Pens make short hops to Philadelphia, Detroit and Columbus. Helping temper that is a four-game homestand from March 22-27. April includes a three-game trip to Winnipeg, Minnesota and Colorado, preceding three straight tilts at Consol to complete the schedule.
Of course, the Penguins can’t worry about all of that right now. They have a four-point lead over Boston for the top seed in the Eastern Conference, an edge they’d prefer to maintain in case of another late-spring showdown with the Bruins.
For now, though, the focus will be on getting back into a routine for what will be a challenging push to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Tonight’s Game: Penguins (40-15-3, 83 points – 1st Metropolitan) vs. Canadiens (32-21-7, 71 points – 2nd Atlantic) at Pittsburgh’s Consol Energy Center
Faceoff: 7 p.m. ET
TV: Root Sports Pittsburgh
Radio: 105.9 The X
Montreal played Wednesday night at home, losing 2-1 in overtime to Detroit. The Habs are tied with Tampa Bay for the second spot in the Atlantic Division, although the Lightning have two games in hand. Prior to the Olympic break, Montreal had won three in a row.
As for the Penguins, bottom-six forwards Taylor Pyatt and Joe Vitale should be in the lineup after rehabbing lower-body injuries. Defenseman Simon Despres will be active with Paul Martin (broken hand) and Kris Letang (stroke) out indefinitely. Marc-Andre Fleury figures to get the start in net.