Flames at Penguins preview
Letang will return for Pittsburgh; Brodie is game-time decision for Calgary
by Wes Crosby / NHL.com Independent Correspondent
FLAMES (11-12-3) at PENGUINS (12-7-4)
7 p.m. ET; TVAS, ATTSN-PT, SNW, NHL.TV
The Game
Kris Letang will return to the lineup and TJ Brodie will be a game-time decision when the Pittsburgh Penguins play the Calgary Flames at PPG Paints Arena on Monday.
Letang, who missed Pittsburgh's past eight games because of a lower-body injury, participated in full contact in practice Sunday, when he returned to the top defense pair with Brian Dumoulin.
The Penguins are 2-0-2 in their past four games, and 4-1-3 in their past eight.
Brodie, who has missed the past five games, practiced with Calgary on Sunday for the first time since experiencing a medical episode in practice Nov. 14. The defenseman collapsed during a drill, started convulsing and was taken off the ice on a stretcher before being transported to a hospital.
The Flames have been outscored 25-7, including being shut out three times, while going 1-5-1 in their past seven games after winning four of their previous five. They defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 in a shootout Saturday.
Players to watch
Flames forward Matthew Tkachuk has been held without a point in his past five games after having 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists) in his first 21 games this season.
Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin has 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) in his past nine games. He has 10 points (four goals, six assists) during a five-game point streak against the Flames.
They said it
"[Brodie] looks good. ... Looks good. Looks promising." -- Flames coach Bill Peters
"[Letang] can come right in and not miss a step. We've seen it before. It's good to have him back." -- Penguins defenseman Brian Dumoulin
Flames projected lineup
Johnny Gaudreau -- Sean Monahan -- Elias Lindholm
Matthew Tkachuk -- Mikael Backlund -- Andrew Mangiapane
Milan Lucic -- Derek Ryan -- Dillon Dube
Tobias Rieder -- Mark Jankowski -- Michael Frolik
Mark Giordano -- TJ Brodie
Noah Hanifin -- Rasmus Andersson
Oliver Kylington -- Michael Stone
David Rittich
Cam Talbot
Scratched: Alexander Yelesin, Zac Rinaldo
Injured: Sam Bennett (upper body), Austin Czarnik (lower body), Travis Hamonic (lower body)
Penguins projected lineup
Jake Guentzel -- Evgeni Malkin -- Bryan Rust
Alex Galchenyuk -- Jared McCann -- Brandon Tanev
Dominik Kahun -- Dominik Simon -- Patric Hornqvist
Zach Aston-Reese -- Teddy Blueger -- Sam Lafferty
Brian Dumoulin -- Kris Letang
Jack Johnson -- John Marino
Marcus Pettersson -- Zach Trotman
Matt Murray
Tristan Jarry
Scratched: Juuso Riikola, Chad Ruhwedel
Injured: Sidney Crosby (core muscle surgery), Nick Bjugstad (lower body), Justin Schultz (lower body)
Status report
Brodie, who was activated off injured reserve, skated on a defense pair with Giordano during morning skate. The Flames assigned defenseman Brandon Davidson to Stockton of the American Hockey League. ... The Penguins did not hold a morning skate.
Stat pack
Lucic needs two goals to reach 200 in the NHL. He has not scored in 24 games this season, his first with the Flames. ... Guentzel and Rust each has three goals and three assists during a four-game point streak.