Penguins/NHL
Pascal Dupuis was taking off of IR yesterday but the Penguins have decided to hold him out for another game.
The Penguins will go with the same lineup that they had on Sunday against the Rangers.
Marc Andre Fleury will start in goal for the 9th time in 10 games.
Brooks Orpik remains sidelined with an undisclosed injury and will not play tonight. Orpik has not skated since getting injured against Anaheim.
Alex Goligoski will be scratched for the second consecutive game.
Cam Ward will be making his 13th straight start tonight for the Hurricanes. In the Penguins 5-2 win against the Hurricanes on December 4th, the Penguins faced backup goaltender Michael Leighton. Ward made 35 saves in Carolina’s 2-0 win Monday night against the Maple Leafs.
Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin will remain on the same line for tonight’s game. It remains to be seen whether Crosby and Malkin will be playing together in the All-Star game. Crosby told reporters following practice
thay he is non-committal on his status for the All-Star game. Crosby remains bothered with a knee injury and could use the week off to rest. It is believed there is a lot of pressure on Crosby to play.
The Penguins (50pts) are currently one point ahead of the Hurricanes (49pts) in the standings and following the morning skate you could get the sense from the players that they feel the importance of tonight’s game and the chance of going into the All-Star break winning four of five.
Photo courtesy of Dan4th
