Penguins at Flames preview

PENGUINS (19-10-4) at FLAMES (18-13-4)
9 p.m. ET; ESPN+, SNW, ATTSN-PT, NHL.TV

Malkin, who has missed the past two games with an illness, is second on the Penguins with 27 points (eight goals, 19 assists) and one goal from 400 in the NHL. Rust (illness) has five points (three goals, two assists) in his past three games and is third with 22 points (12 goals, 10 assists).
The Penguins have won two in a row and five of their past six (5-1-0).
Sam Bennett will return for the Flames, whose season-long seven-game winning streak ended with a 4-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday. The forward missed 13 games with an upper-body injury.

Players to watch

Penguins forward Jake Guentzel has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in a five-game point streak.
Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau has scored four goals in his past six games after going 10 straight without one.

They said it

"When you see that recipe is working, you have a tendency to keep doing it again and again, and I think that's the key to our success without guys like [Malkin], (Sidney Crosby) or (Patric Hornqvist). I think it's the commitment level from this team." -- Penguins defenseman Kris Letang
"When you win that many games in a row, all the boys are getting their confidence back. It feels nice to be rolling. It's important to win every game, especially now with the standings that close. We're playing a good team today. You've just got to be ready and focus on our own stuff, and we'll be fine." -- Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson

Penguins projected lineup

Jake Guentzel -- Evgeni Malkin -- Bryan Rust
Zach Aston-Reese -- Jared McCann -- Dominik Kahun
Alex Galchenyuk -- Teddy Blueger -- Brandon Tanev
Dominik Simon -- Sam Lafferty -- Stefan Noesen
John Marino -- Kris Letang
Jack Johnson -- Justin Schultz
Marcus Pettersson -- Chad Ruhwedel
Tristan Jarry
Matt Murray
Scratched:Joseph Blandisi, Juuso Riikola
Injured: Sidney Crosby (core muscle surgery), Nick Bjugstad (core muscle surgery), Brian Dumoulin (ankle surgery), Patric Hornqvist (lower body)

Flames projected lineup

Johnny Gaudreau -- Sean Monahan -- Mikael Backlund
Matthew Tkachuk -- Elias Lindholm -- Andrew Mangiapane
Milan Lucic -- Derek Ryan -- Dillon Dube
Sam Bennett -- Tobias Rieder -- Michael Frolik
Mark Giordano -- TJ Brodie
Noah Hanifin -- Travis Hamonic
Oliver Kylington -- Rasmus Andersson
Cam Talbot
David Rittich
Scratched:Mark Jankowski, Zac Rinaldo, Michael Stone
Injured:Austin Czarnik (lower body)

Status report

Pittsburgh held an optional morning skate. … Crosby, who has missed 16 games, has resumed skating but there is no timetable for his return. ... Talbot will make his third start in six games after backing up Rittich in seven straight.

Stat pack

Jarry has three shutouts in his past five starts. … Hanifin is two assists from 100 in the NHL. … Monahan has 10 points (five goals, five assists) in his past nine games.