Vancouver (12-6-2) at Pittsburgh (12-4-3) 2:00 p.m. EST
PITTSBURGH (Ticker) -- The Pittsburgh Penguins made it all the
way to the Stanley Cup Finals last season. They're playing like
they plan on going back.
The Penguins will be looking for their eighth win in nine games
when they face the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.
They have 27 points - tying the second-best start in the 42-year
history of the franchise.
The only better start through 19 games was turned in by the
1994-95 Penguins, who went 14-3-2 for 30 points. The 1992-93
team also amassed 27 points.
Pittsburgh bounced back from its lone defeat this month, a loss
to the Minnesota Wild, with a 3-2 win at Atlanta on Thursday.
Sidney Crosby netted a goal and two assists and Miroslav Satan
scored his ninth goal in the victory.
However, the Penguins have managed a total of four goals in
their last two games after averaging 5.3 during their six-game
winning streak to begin the month.
Evgeni Malkin, who leads the team with 31 points, had his streak
of 13 games with at least one point snapped in Tuesday's 2-1
overtime loss to Minnesota but recorded an assist in Thursday's
triumph.
The Canucks are 6-0-2 over their past eight, including a 3-2 win
at Minnesota on Thursday. Henrik Sedin had two assists and
Daniel Sedin tallied in the win.
The Sedin brothers rank No. 1 and No. 2 on the team in scoring,
with Henrik leading the way at 18 points. Daniel has 16 points.