It will be a battle of first place teams in the Eastern Conference when the Penguins host the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight at 7:00 p.m.
TONIGHT’S OPPONENT: The Lightning is struggling as of late, having lost three of their last four games, all of which 
have been against the Metropolitan Division. Tonight’s game is the second game of a five-game road trip for Tampa Bay. After dropping their first game 4-2 in Washington on Saturday night, the Lightning will travel to Philadelphia, New Jersey, and the Long Island.
Tampa is lead offensively by captain Steven Stamkos. The 24-year old center iceman has 37 points in 31 games for the Lightning including 17 goals, which is tied for third in the NHL.
Defenseman Victor Hedman is off to a hot start to his season. After missing the beginning of the season with an injury, he has 13 points in 13 games since his return.
Ben Bishop has drawn the majority of starts in goal for the Bolts. In 25 games, he has a 16-6-2 recored and a .914 save percentage.
MUMPS STRIKE AGAIN: Penguins captain Sidney Crosby will miss his third game with the mumps. He is no longer considered to be contagious and will be able to return for Thursday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche.
The breaking news this morning was that injured winger Beau Bennett has also symptoms of the mumps. Bennett was part of a group of players that visited Pittsburgh’s Children’s Hospital last week. It is unknown how long he will be out.
UP AND DOWN: The Penguins recalled defenseman Scott Harrington from Wilkes-Barre/Scanton of the American Hockey League. In 21 AHL games, Harrington has five assists, 12 PIM and is a plus-6. He has yet to play a game with Pittsburgh despite several call-ups this season. Harrington is a 21-year old native of Kingston, Ontario and was the Penguins’ second-round pick in the 2011 NHL draft.
“I’ve been fortunate to have been called up a couple of times so far this season, and I’m really excited to be back here right now,” he said after practice.
Harrington is not expected to play tonight against Tampa Bay. Defenseman Robert Bortuzzo is expected to miss the game with an unspecified injury. Rookie blueliner Brian Dumoulin will take Bortuzzo’s spot in the lineup.
Zach Sill, who is expected to be out for a couple of weeks with an upper-body injury, was place on the injured reserve to make room on the roster for Harrington.
MINOR MATTERS: The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (16-9-1, 1st in East) lost 2-1 in a shootout to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on Saturday. Jean-Sebasiten Dea had the only goal for the Penguins. Matt Murray made 23 saves in the loss.
On Saturday, they beat the Hershey Bears 3-2 in overtime. Adam Payerl scored the game-winner. Dea and Dominic Uher also scored. Jeff Zatkoff made 20 saves for the win.
The Wheeling Nailers (12-10, 3rd in North) lost 2-1 in Reading on Saturday night. Derek Army had the lone Nailers goal. Eric Hartzell made 21 saves in the loss. On Sunday in Wheeling, the two teams matchup again, and this time, the Nailers came out with a 3-2 win. Army scored the game-winner and had two assists. Jarett Burton also had a goal and two assists. Hartzell made 36 saves to avenge is loss the night before.
#CAWLIDGEHAWKEY: The Robert Morris Colonials (11-2-3, 1st in AHC) split their weekend with the Mercyhurst Lakers. On Saturday night, the Colonials took the first game, 7-4. Cody Wydo had a goal and three assists and Brandon Denham had a goal and two assists. Dalton Izyk made 34 saves to earn the win.
On Sunday afternoon, Robert Morris was shut out for the first time this season. Terry Shafer made 14 saves in the loss. The Colonials are off until December 29 and 30, when they will take on Penn State, Western Michigan, and Colgate in the Three Rivers Classic at Consol Energy Center.
The Keystone (ConneIsville, Pa.) Ice Miners of the NAHL announced that goaltender Nick Kossoff has committed to play Division-I college hockey at Lake Superior State next season. Kossoff has a .926 save percentage in 12 games with the Tier-II junior squad.
