The Pittsburgh Penguins take on the Tampa Bay Lightning 24 hours after snapping their four game losing streak.
The Pittsburgh Penguins were finally able to bring their losing streak to a halt against the St. Louis Blues. Their reward is a matchup with one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference, the Tampa Bay Lightning. Here are three things to keep an eye on as the Penguins look to remain in the win column.
1. Evgeni Malkin Stepping Up at Perfect Time
The Penguins won a hard fought game in St. Louis on the back of superstar Evgeni Malkin. From his first shift through the last play of the game, Malkin and his linemates were heavily involved. Malkin especially looked like a man possessed, with six shots, a goal, and an assist on the game-winning tally. After three straight scoreless games between February 11th and the 20th, Malkin has exploded for six points in his last four games. He's coming alive at the perfect time, and the Pens will need another dominant performance from him to take down the Lightning.
2. Lightning Power Play vs. Penguins Penalty Kill
The Penguins will have their hands full against the Lightning. One thing they must avoid is giving Tampa a man advantage. The Lightning boast the second best power play in the league, converting on over 25% of their chances. While the Penguins currently rank 15th in penalty killing, they need to stay disciplined and avoid the penalty box against the Lightning if they want a shot at winning.
3. Can the Penguins Crack Vasilevskiy?
The Lightning are backstopped by one of the league's premier goaltenders, Andrei Vasilevskiy. The Russian netminder is 9-5 in 14 regular season games against the Penguins, with a .905 save percentage in those games. While he's 3-4 against the Pens in the postseason, he performs much better in the regular season. Vasilevskiy is 28-14-2 with a 2.55 goals against average and .919 save percentage on the year. The Pens will need to create traffic in the net-front and pepper Vasilevskiy with shots, much like they did against Jordan Binnington and the St. Louis Blue, if they want to pick up their second win in as many days.
The Penguins and Lightning face-off at 6:00 p.m. at PPG Paints Arena.
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