Where: CONSOL Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
When: 1 PM EDT | Tickets: Check availability
Television: Sun Sports, NHL Network (US) | Radio: 970 AM WFLA
Opponent Coverage: Pensburgh, The Pensblog
The breakneck pace of the current stretch of the schedule for the Lightning won’t ease up until after the completion of play at Times Palace on Monday night when the Bolts finish their season series with the Ottawa Senators. Yeah, we play them again just four days after beating them in a defense-optional showdown in Ottawa on Thursday night.
They’ll have not one but two days between games. What a blessing.
First things first though, and that’s the challenge of the Pittsburgh Penguins in all their glory. And it’s a matinee too, so it’s hard to gauge exactly what is going to happen here with the lineup – will Jon Cooper adhere to the same lineup he ran in Toronto and Ottawa or will he rotate in fresh bodies (Mark Barberio, Keith Aulie, Richard Panik, and Nikita Kucherov)? Hell, will Cody Funyk be with the Lightning and will Cooper experiment with the recent-signee?
As for the Pittsburgh Penguins, I think you know what you need to know: Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Chris Kunitz, James Neal, etc, etc, etc. Many goals, many many goals, and Pierre McGuire’s eternal devotion.
Really, there’s only one fact that I think matters here, though you might be reading this for information that pertains to how the Penguins are doing and I can just tell you they’re good. Just as good as when the Bolts nearly beat them in early October and just as good as when Tampa Bay lost a defensive battle to them in November.
Really, the need-to-know, relevant information is thus: Five wins in a row is a fluke, six would be a streak. Can they get the streak, or will they be satisfied with the fluke?
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