Game 35 Preview: Jets Vs. Penguins
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – The Pittsburgh Penguins will be looking to extend their winning streak to 14 games when they play host to the Winnipeg Jets tonight at CONSOL Energy Center.
Ray Shero and the Penguins stunned the hockey world by acquiring Jarome Iginla in the early morning hours Thursday.
Iginla won't be in the lineup tonight, but two other players Shero acquired this week are expected to be.
Brenden Morrow made his Penguins debut during the team's 1-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. Now, rugged defenseman Douglas Murray is expected to do the same tonight.
Tonight's game will see the Penguins taking on another division leader in the Eastern Conference.
Winnipeg comes into tonight's contest with a six-point lead over Carolina in the Southeast Division and have won two straight games.
Andrew Ladd leads the team with 32 points (14 goals, 18 assists) in 34 games. He is also tied with Blake Wheeler for the team lead in goals.
In goal, Ondrej Pavelec (15-14-2, 2.75 GAA, .905 save percentage) has had an up and down month of March. In 13 starts this month, Pavelec has allowed three or more goals five times.
Against the Penguins he is 2-11-0 with a 4.35 GAA and .870 save percentage.
For Pittsburgh, as if the Iginla news wasn't good enough for one day, they may also get Evgeni Malkin back tonight.
While it is not official yet, Malkin was skating on a line with James Neal and Morrow during the morning skate and was also practicing on the top power play unit.
Marc-Andre Fleury was also back on the ice for the morning skate, which is a good sign after he was forced to leave the Candiens game after the second period when Tyler Kennedy collided with him in the crease.
Sidney Crosby scored the lone goal in the win over Montreal, which was his 54th point (15 goals, 15 assists) of the season.
Tomas Vokoun (8-3-0, 2.72 GAA, .910 save percentage) is expected to be back in goal tonight against Winnipeg.
Against the Jets, Vokoun is 14-11-4 with a 2.48 GAA and a ,916 save percentage with two shutouts.
The puck is set to drop at 7 p.m. and you can watch it on Root Sports.
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