[51-24-7]
2
1
01/11/2014
FINAL
[35-40-7]
123T
PIT1102
26SHOTS28
22FACEOFFS23
19HITS9
21PIM13
0/3PP1/6
6GIVEAWAYS9
14TAKEAWAYS7
8BLOCKED SHOTS14
     

Penguins try to bounce back vs. Flames

Saturday, 01.11.2014 / 2:02 AM

PENGUINS (32-12-2) at FLAMES (15-23-6)

TV: CBC; ROOT

Last 10: Pittsburgh 7-2-1; Calgary 2-7-1

Season series: The Pittsburgh Penguins are going for their seventh consecutive victory against the Calgary Flames. They won 4-3 at Consol Energy Center on Dec. 21. This is the Penguins' first trip to Scotiabank Saddledome since Oct. 8, 2011; they haven't lost there since Dec. 7, 2003.

Big story: The Penguins looked like they'd be coming to Calgary trying for a sweep of their three-game trip through Western Canada after they jumped out to a 2-0 lead against the Edmonton Oilers on Friday. Instead, they wound up with a 4-3 overtime loss.

Team Scope:

Penguins: Pittsburgh is one of the NHL's best when it comes to turning early leads into victories. But the Penguins failed to get two points against the Oilers despite leading 2-0 in the second period and 3-2 with less than three minutes remaining in regulation. Edmonton forced overtime by scoring with 1:59 to play, then needed 61 seconds of overtime before Ryan Nugent-Hopkins got the winner, handing the Penguins their third loss in 15 games.

“Being up by two goals, obviously we need to find a way to close that game out," captain Sidney Crosby said. "We knew they were going to come out hard for the third and we still let them get even. Then we took the lead and lost it again. You don’t deserve to win games when you do that.

"They came hard in the third, and I don't think we were desperate enough or smart enough with the puck."

Flames: Not much is going right in Calgary. The Flames are 1-6-0 since the Christmas break, and five of the six losses have been shutouts.

Captain Mark Giordano concedes that the lack of winning -- and scoring -- is frustrating.

"We have a good group of guys but when you're losing, it's tough after games," he told the media Friday after practice. "We have to let those go and then come back the next day with a positive mind set and we have to find a way. It's a lot easier when you're winning games and getting good results."

Who's hot: Crosby has six goals and nine points in six career games against the Flames. He has five goals and eight assists during a seven-game point streak. Crosby's League-leading 67 points are 13 more than runners-up Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks and John Tavares of the New York Islanders.

Injury report: Pittsburgh is without goalie Tomas Vokoun (blood clot), forwards Beau Bennett (wrist), Chuck Kobasew (lower body), Chris Connor (hand), Pascal Dupuis (knee surgery), Jayson Megna (lower body), Andrew Ebbett (ankle), and defenseman Paul Martin (broken leg). … Calgary is missing defenseman Kris Russell (knee) and forwards Curtis Glencross (ankle), Blair Jones (knee) and David Jones (eye infection).

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