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Shea-ved Ice: Penguins Vs. Canadiens Preview

MONTREAL (KDKA) - The Pittsburgh Penguins will conclude a four-game road trip Tuesday night against the Montreal Canadiens.

Currently, the Penguins are 1-2 on the trip and are coming off a 5-2 loss to the New Jersey Devils Sunday afternoon.

The Penguins have only scored four goals on the trip and were shut out 1-0 by the Maple Leafs in the first game.

Following tonight's game, Pittsburgh will get a few days off to rest before resuming action against the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday.

On Sunday, the Devils capitalized on some early mistakes and never looked back. Evgeni Malkin and Matt Niskanen scored the only goals of the game for the Penguins.

Montreal has been struggling all season and enter tonight's contest with a 4-4-2 record in their last 10 games. They are currently tied with the Carolina Hurricanes for last place in the Eastern Conference.

However, they were able to notch a 3-0 win over the Jets on Sunday. Carey Price (18-19-8, 2.38 GAA, .915 save percentage) stopped 23 shots for his third shutout of the season.

Price is on a little bit of a roll lately, having won three of his last five starts. Since the calendar turned to 2012, Price has only allowed more than three goals on one occasion over a span of 11 games.

Against the Penguins, Price is 7-6-1 with a 2.76 GAA and a .915 save percentage.

On offense, Erik Cole is leading the team in points with 39 (19 goals, 20 assists). Max Pacioretty is right behind him with 38 points and is tied for the team lead in goals with 19.

This will be the fourth and final meeting between the two teams this season. Pittsburgh has won all three of the previous meetings:

  • On Oct. 20, the Penguins won 3-1
  • On Nov. 26, the Penguins won 4-3 in overtime
  • On Jan. 20, the Penguins won 5-4 in a shootout

Malkin continues to lead the league in points with 61 (29 goals, 32 assists) and he has torched the Canadiens in his career.

In 21 career games, Malkin has 11goals and 15 assists including two goals and six assists on the power play.

Marc-Andre Fleury (28-13-2, 2.30 GAA, .912 save percentage) saw his personal nine-game winning streak come to an end on Sunday after allowing three goals on 12 shots against the Devils. He was pulled early in the second period of that game.

Against the Canadiens, Fleury is 13-8-1 with a 3.32 GAA and a .887 save percentage.

The Penguins will be without the services of Tyler Kennedy for an undetermined amount of time after leaving Sunday's game against the Devils with an apparent leg injury.

Kennedy has returned to Pittsburgh for evaluation and a timeframe for his return has not been determined yet.

According to the Penguins' official website, Jordan Staal and Simon Despres returned to practice yesterday and head coach Dan Bylsma said they could return over the next five to 10 days.

The puck is set to drop for tonight's game at 7:30 p.m. and you can watch it on Root Sports.

You can follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sheavedice

For More Penguins Coverage Check Out Puck Talk With Popchock.

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