Hamonic was activated off injured reserve Thursday. He missed eight games because of a facial fracture sustained during a season-opening 5-2 loss at the Vancouver Canucks on Oct 3. The Flames are 1-2-0 in their past three games after winning four of their previous five (4-1-0). The Penguins have won two straight after one earning win in their previous four games (1-1-2).
Players to watch
Pittsburgh forward Evgeni Malkin has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in a five-game point streak and has points in six of seven games this season. Calgary forward Johnny Gaudreau has five points (four goals, one assist) in his past five games and points in seven of nine.
They said it
"They're a good, fast young team. They've got a lot of really good players. I think for us, they present a different challenge. They've got a really good top line and they're a team we're going to have to come out ready to go (against)." -- Penguins forward Bryan Rust "We know we've got to be better. We talked about that internally. Obviously, it's frustrating when you're losing games like that with the effort that we had. Tonight, we have to step up. Everyone has to play their roles and play a part." -- Flames forward Sean Monahan
The Penguins held an optional skate Thursday. …Grant and Riikola could make their season debuts. …Valimaki is expected to come out of the lineup should Hamonic return. ...Czarnik, a healthy scratch the past three games, will replace Ryan.
Stat pack
Kessel has eight points (four goals, four assists) in his past five games. …Letang has five points (two goals, three assists) in his past four games. … Gaudreau is two assists from 200 in the NHL. … Tkachuk has five points (two goals, three assists) in his past four games.
