Penguins-Blues Preview

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• Penguins Double Up Blues, 6-3

Regular Season Matchup
	W-L-OT	HOME	ROAD	DIV	CONF
PIT	45-28-9	25-13-3	20-15-6	15-4-5	35-22-7
STL	41-31-10	23-13-5	18-18-5	14-6-4	34-21-9
· Complete Standings

Team Stat Comparison
258	Goals	227
233	Goals Against	227
62	Power Play Goals	72
60	Power Play Goals Allowed	58
7	Shorthanded Goals	10
13	Shorthanded Goals Allowed	8
1114	Penalty Minutes	1248
14	Average Penalty Minutes	15

Goalie Breakdown
	GOALIE	GP	W	TGA	GAA	SO	SV	SV%
	Marc-Andre Fleury	62	35	162	2.67	4	1688	.912
	Dany Sabourin	19	6	47	2.85	0	416	.898
	Mathieu Garon	4	2	10	2.91	0	84	.894
	John Curry	3	2	6	2.40	0	63	.913
	Chris Mason	57	27	129	2.41	6	1415	.916
	Manny Legace	29	13	77	3.18	0	592	.885
	Ben Bishop	6	1	12	2.94	0	100	.893
	Marek Schwarz	2	0	0	0.00	0	5	1.000
	Chris Holt	1	0	0	0.00	0	3	1.000

Team Stat Leaders
G	Evgeni Malkin 35	Brad Boyes 33
A	Evgeni Malkin 78	Brad Boyes 39
PTS	Evgeni Malkin 113	Brad Boyes 72
PIM	Eric Godard 171	David Backes 165
SOG	Evgeni Malkin 290	Brad Boyes 220

The Pittsburgh Penguins have struggled to score over the past week, and they haven't had much success on offense at St. Louis in eight years.

Having Sidney Crosby available might help matters.

With Crosby expected to not miss any time with an injury, the Penguins look to snap a three-game losing streak as they play a rare contest with the Blues on Saturday night.

Crosby suffered an undisclosed injury in Pittsburgh's 4-1 loss to Phoenix on Thursday night, leaving with five minutes left in the second period. After the game, he would only say he had "some discomfort."

The Penguins (5-4-2) got some good news on Saturday as Crosby participated in the morning skate and will play against the Blues (5-4-0).

Crosby has three goals and 10 assists in 11 games. He is the team's second-leading scorer behind Evgeni Malkin, who has three goals and 13 assists.

This would have been a tough time to lose Crosby. Pittsburgh has scored two goals or less in every game during a three-game skid (0-2-1).

Malkin has registered a point in 10 of Pittsburgh's 11 games, but hasn't been getting much help.

"The system's only 50 percent of the game," Pittsburgh coach Michel Therrien said. "After that, the players have to play hard. It's an excuse."

The Penguins have also lost three straight on the road (0-2-1), and have been held to two goals or fewer in each of their last four contests away from Mellon Arena.

Now, Pittsburgh will travel to St. Louis, where it has scored a combined three goals in its last three contests. The Penguins have lost four straight (0-2-2) at St. Louis since a 4-3 win on Dec. 12, 1998.

Pittsburgh hasn't scored more than two goals in a road game with the Blues since a 4-3 loss on Nov. 16, 2000.

This will be the Penguins' first game at St. Louis since Dec. 13, 2005, when they lost 3-0, and the teams' first meeting overall since a 4-1 Blues win at Pittsburgh on Dec. 19, 2006.

St. Louis has had its own problems on offense, getting shut out in two of its last three games. The Blues lost 1-0 to Carolina on Thursday night, six days after a 4-0 loss to Los Angeles.

St. Louis entered Thursday's game with the top-ranked power-play in the NHL, but failed to produce on its three chances and coach Andy Murray was not pleased with his team's effort.

"I'm disappointed as some of our leading players are," Murray said. "If your top don't play well and what reason don't they have to play well? Last time I checked, they're all pretty well paid. They like playing here in St. Louis. They don't have issues with the coach. Just play hard. We're going to win or lose based on how our top five or six guys play."

A bright spot for St. Louis was the return of goaltender Chris Mason, who made 29 saves against the Hurricanes in his first start since an emergency appendectomy on Oct. 16.