Pens @ Wild Pre-Game Buzz

The Minnesota Wild are being labled as facing the Penguins "B" team tonight by some in the Minnesota media and it's hard to argue with that.

Already without Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Brooks Orpik, Tyler Kennedy and Dustin Jeffrey, the Penguins will be without the services of Kris Letang who will serve the first game of a two game suspension tonight.

Playing their 8th game in 13 days, things don't bode well for the Penguins who are 2-9-1 all-time vs Minnesota.

A lot of talk inside Penguin circles is when this team is actually going to be able to play together at full strength. Every day something comes up.

Tonights game in fact will mark the 39th time in the Penguins last 43 games that they will play without both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. The team has gone 20-13-5 in games without the two during the current span (38 of last 42 games).

It's just another day for players to step up and Brian Strait will be thrown into the fire tonight making his season debut. Strait had a strong training camp with the team and has been a superior player in the minors this season, posting a plus-6 rating and collecting four points in five games.

*The Penguins are looking to snap a three-game losing streak and a four-game winless stretch against Minnesota. Pittsburgh hasn’t beaten the Wild since a 4-2 win on Oct. 30, 2007 at Xcel Energy Center.The Penguins are looking to avoid losing three consecutive games in regulation for the first time since a five-game losing streak in the 2009-2010 season (Dec. 27, 2009-Jan. 3, 2010).