Boston Bruins (40-24-3, 83 Pts) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (41-24-5, 87 Pts)

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Penguins look to extend their winning streak to nine games this afternoon against the defending cup champions who have been extremely inconsistent in the past four to six weeks. The Bruins playing in back to back situations lost to Washington yesterday.
A win this afternoon by Pittsburgh will pull the Penguins within two points of the Conference and division leading Rangers.
LINEUP NEWS
*Defenseman Deryk Engelland is a strong candidate to return to the lineup and will take warmups, head coach Dan Bylsma said in his morning media session. Defenseman Brian Strait will be a healthy scratch if Engelland plays.
*Defenseman Paul Martin will miss his second straight game due to an illness. Top prospect Simon Despres will stay in the lineup, appearing in his 16th career NHL game.
*Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang and Dustin Jeffrey all skated this morning. Jeffrey will be a healthy scratch, while Letang and Crosby could play as early as Thursday night vs Rangers.
*Marc Andre Fleury will start in goal. He’s 17-2-1 in his last 20 games and 6-0-0 in his last six starts with a .970 save percentage.