PENGUINS TEAM SCOPE: The defending Stanley Cup champs come into Tuesday's tilt on a three-game winning streak and sit third in the ultra-competitive Metropolitan Division. They beat Nashville 4-2 on Jan. 31 and followed that up with a 4-3 OT victory against Columbus Friday before dumping St. Louis 4-1 on Saturday. NHL goalscoring leader Sidney Crosby tallied a pair - including his 30th of the season and added an assist in the win over the Blues. No. 87 is just three points away from hitting the 1,000 mark for his career and will become the 86th player to reach that milestone. Evgeni Malkin, who had been sidelined with a knee injury, practiced with the team Monday but in a limited capacity. Pittsburghpenguins.com Tweeted that when coach Mike Sullivan was asked about Malkin's return, he replied: "Geno will not play tomorrow. He was in a non-contact jersey today but we are very encouraged with his progress."
FLAMES TEAM SCOPE: St. Louis beat Philadelphia 2-0 Monday night to bump the Flames out of the second wildcard playoff spot in the Western Conference. The club saw its three-game winning streak snapped when they fell 4-3 to the Rangers at MSG on Sunday. Dougie Hamilton, Troy Brouwer and Matthew Tkachuk scored in the loss. Overall, red-hot Sean Monahan leads the Calgary offence with nine goals in his last 11 games. He is just one goal shy of 100 for his career and will become the youngest player in Flames history to achieve the feat. Brian Elliott started the last four games between the pipes for Calgary but Chad Johnson will get the start Tuesday. Following the tilt against the Penguins, the Flames will have five days between games before they host Arizona at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Feb. 13.
