The Penguins are hosting the Calgary Flames tonight at 7:00 p.m. The Flames are making their only trip to Pittsburgh in the 2014-15.
The Penguins have dominated the Flames in recent meetings. The Pens have won seven straight contests dating back to Dec 3, 2005. In Pittsburgh, the series has been even more lopsided. The Flames have won only once in Pittsburgh since 1989.
TONIGHT’S OPPONENT: The Flames success this season has been fueled by their top defensive pairing of Mark Giordano
and T.J. Brodie. Giordano leads all NHL defensemen with 30 points on eight goals and 22 assists. Brodie has 22 points and leads all NHL blueliners with a plus-17 rating.
Up front, Jiri Hudler and Sean Monahan each have 11 goals to lead the Flames. Boston College grad Johnny Gaudreau is second among NHL rookies with 21 points.
Former Penguins defenseman Deryk Engelland has two assists, 30 penalty minutes, and 49 hits in 24 games.
Jonas Hiller and Karri Ramo have split time fairly evenly in goal so far. Hiller has a 9-7-1 record and a .914 save percentage in 17 games. Ramo has an 8-4-1 record and a .911 save percentage in 14 games. Ramo played last night in the Flames’ 4-3 loss in Buffalo, so Hiller will likely draw the start tonight. In five career games against Pittsburgh, Hiller has a 2-2-1 record and a .893 save percentage.
THE 4077: The Penguins are finally starting to get healthy, and they will likely welcome Patric Hornqvist and Kris Letang back to the lineup. Letang has missed five games with a groin injury. Hornqvist has missed two games with an undisclosed upper-body injury.
Defenseman Olli Maatta, who missed the Penguins 4-3 overtime loss to the Rangers on Monday with an upper-body injury, will not play in either of the team’s games this weekend, and will be re-evaluated early next week.
Sidney Crosby missed practice on Thursday with an illness, but is expected to play tonight. Wingers Pascal Dupuis, Chris Kunitz, Beau Bennett, and Scott Wilson remained sidelined for Pittsburgh.
FLURRIES FORECASTED: Marc-Andre Fleury will start in goal for the Penguins. Fleury is 5-1 in seven games against Calgary and has a .937 save percentage versus the Flames, which is his best mark against any opponent.
“It’s a team I haven’t seen as much, but they’ve been having good success, and part of it’s because of their D,” Fleury said after practice on Thursday. “You can see how many goals and points they have on the back end, and their goalies are playing well.”
Fleury is in the midst of the best statistical season of his career. He has a .925 save percentage, a 2.16 goals-against average, and five shutouts, all of which would tie or best his career highs.
MINOR MATTERS: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (14-9-2, 1st in East) signed head coach John Hynes and assistant coach Alain Nasreddine to multi-year contract extensions earlier today. Hynes is the winningest coach in Wilkes-Barre history. The Penguins host the Bridgeport Sound Tigers tonight at 7:05 p.m.
The Wheeling Nailers (11-8, 3rd in North) lost 4-2 to Toledo on Wednesday. Zack Torquato and Derek Army scored for the Nailers. Eric Hartzell suffered the loss and made only 11 saves. The Nailers have a three game home-and-home with the Reading Royals this weekend. The first game is in Reading tonight at 7:30 p.m.
#CAWLIDGEHAWKEY: The Robert Morris Colonials (10-1-3, 1st AHC) are in Erie, Pennsylvania for a weekend series against the Mercyhurst Lakers. They face off tonight at 7:05 p.m.
