The Pens continue their West Canadian trip tonight with a visit to Calgary, Alberta to take on the Flames at the Saddle Dome. Similar to their most recent match against the Oilers, this is the first and only time this season the Birds are scheduled to play the Flames.
Calgary is last in the Northwest Division with 26 points and currently ranked thirteenth in the Conference. The play of Miikka Kiprusoff has been anything but impressive, as he rolls into tonight's game with an 11-11-4 record.
Between the pipes for the Pens, Fleury has been the opposite of Kippy. The young goalie is 9-8-1 on the season and has recorded four-straight wins. Unlike the beginning of the season, Fleury has found his place in net and has managed to stand more grounded on his skates. At the beginning of the season it almost appeared as if Fleury was suffering from a bout of A.D.D, leaving the net wide open in dangerous situations while fetching the puck.
If I had to guess though, I'd say Dany Sabourin will get the start tonight. Coach Therrien has been known to rotate goalies in back-to-back games, as is the case tonight.
Offensively, the Flames pack a mighty punch. Not only is Jarome Iginla a formidable scorer and setup guy, but Alex Tanguay and Daymond Langkow can put up the numbers too. In Penguin terms, consider it along the lines of a Crosby, Malkin and Sykora line.
Speaking of - Petr Sykora missed some great open net opportunities last night against the Oilers. I'd really love to see him capitalize on similar opportunities tonight.
Crosby hit the 40 point mark last night (14-26) in his three assist effort, edging him within two of the league's point leader Vinny Lecavalier. Malkin is second on the team with 33 points (10-23).
The Mark Recchi situation has taken another turn as of earlier today. The Pittsburgh Penguins announced that Recchi, who just cleared waivers yesterday afternoon, would be appointed to the AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. The main question right now is - will he go? Similar to veterans of the past along the likes of Alexander Mogilny and Theoren Fleury, a demotion often signals the end of a career.
As more news on Recchi unfolds, I'll keep you posted.
Flames vs Penguins tonight at 9:00p.m. Eastern.
