The Pittsburgh Penguins will try to avoid their first
three-game losing streak in the Dan Bylsma era when they visit the Boston
Bruins for tonight's clash at TD Garden.
The Penguins have dropped two in a row and are in danger of losing three
straight for the first time since January 30-February 3, just weeks before
Bylsma was hired as Pittsburgh's head coach. Bylsma led Pittsburgh to the
Stanley Cup title last spring and has a 30-8-4 regular-season record since
taking over for the fired Michel Therrien.
Pittsburgh began a four-game road trip with last Tuesday's win in Anaheim, but
was then outscored by a combined 10-2 margin in its next two tests in Los
Angeles and San Jose. The Pens had been a perfect 7-0-0 on the road this
season before losing the last two outings.
After dropping Thursday's 5-2 decision to the Kings, the Penguins were dealt a
5-0 setback Saturday in San Jose. Evgeni Nabokov stopped 27 shots for his
second shutout of the season as the Sharks used a balanced attack to crush the
Penguins at HP Pavilion.
"They got the puck in the offensive zone, won a lot of battles, and they are a
tough team to deal with there," Bylsma said.
Marc-Andre Fleury was pulled early in the second period after giving up three
goals on 14 shots, and Brent Johnson allowed two goals on 21 shots.
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby was held pointless for the fourth straight
game, marking the longest stretch without a point in the 22-year-old's career.
Pittsburgh, which still leads the Atlantic Division with 24 points, has also
lost three of its last four games and has been playing without last year's Art
Ross Trophy winner Evgeni Malkin as well as top defenseman Sergei Gonchar.
Malkin suffered a strained right shoulder on October 28 and is expected to be
back later this month, while Gonchar could be out until early December.
Tyler Kennedy is also expected to miss tonight's game, as the Penguins forward
is listed as doubtful with a groin injury.
The Pens will return to the Steel City following tonight's game and will begin
a three-game homestand Thursday against New Jersey.
While the Pens are trying to avoid their first three-game slide in over nine
months, the Bruins will aim to win back-to-back games for the first time since
April.
Boston, which was the top seed in the East last year, has a mediocre 7-7-2
record in 2009-10 and the Bruins are 0-5-1 in games following a win this
season. The B's haven't put together consecutive victories since a six-game
winning streak from March 22-April 4 of last season.
The Bruins were able to end their longest losing streak of the year, a three-
game slide, with Saturday's triumph over visiting Buffalo. Zdeno Chara tallied
a goal and an assist to lead Boston to a 4-2 decision against the Sabres.
Marco Sturm, Mark Recchi and Byron Bitz also found the back of the net for
Boston. Tuukka Rask, who received a two-year contract extension on Thursday,
stopped 28-of-30 shots in the win, which also saw Steve Begin pick up two
assists.
Center David Krejci missed his second straight game with a case of swine flu,
but he practiced Monday and could make his return in this evening's contest.
The Bruins are 5-4-1 as the host this year and are playing the third segment
of a four-game homestand tonight. Boston will complete the residency this
Thursday against Florida.
The Bruins and Penguins split four meetings a year ago and Pittsburgh has won
six of the last 10 contests in this series. The Pens have dropped two of three
and seven of their last 10 in Beantown.
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