Pittsburgh (20-17-4) at Nashville (17-19-3), 8:00 pm EST
NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Ticker) -- With half the regular season
over, the Pittsburgh Penguins are not in position to make the
playoffs.
Captain Sidney Crosby and the Penguins look to change that when
they visit the Nashville Predators on Thursday.
The defending Eastern Conference champions, Pittsburgh has
fallen to ninth place in the conference standings - one point
behind the Buffalo Sabres for the final playoff spot and seven
points behind the Atlantic Division-leading Philadelphia Flyers.
Crosby ended a three-game pointless streak with his team-leading
16th goal of the season as the Penguins snapped a season-long,
five-game losing skid with Tuesday's 3-1 triumph over the
Atlanta Thrashers.
Pittsburgh has struggled despite terrific overall production
from its two superstars. Evgeni Malkin and Crosby, who were
both voted into the starting lineup for the All-Star Game, have
combined for 31 goals and 114 points.
The Penguins' problems pale in comparison to the Predators, who
have lost five consecutive contests and have netted a Western
Conference-low 94 goals on the campaign.
Recently recalled Ryan Jones scored their lone goal in Tuesday's
2-1 setback to the Colorado Avalanche.