Penguins v. Wild Preview

The Penguins look to extend their season high winning streak to 7 games at home tonight against the Minnesota Wild (7:00 EST).

Marc-Andre Fleury will miss the game with an undisclosed injury. Backup Dany Sabourin will get the call in the net for the Penguins in his place.

Fleury's injury does not appear to be major, but he may not be ready to return for the Penguins next game on Thursday in Atlanta, either. Sabourin has been playing well, so we'll see if he's able to continue giving the Penguins strong goaltending.

The guy to watch for Minnesota tonight is their #1 Center, and Captain, Mikko Koivu. He leads the team with 15 points and has had an excellent start to the season. Antti Miettinen and Andrew Brunette -- both of whom the Wild brought in during free agency last summer -- also are playing well for them.

Minnesota also is getting great goaltending from Nicklas Backstrom. He's 10-3 with a 2.00 goals against average and a sparkling .934 save percentage. The Penguins will have to work hard to get pucks by him tonight. Their offense has been rolling and Backstrom will provide a good test for them.

Another reason for the strong start that the Wild have had to start the year is their special teams. They are the top penalty killing team in the league, and also rank 3rd with the man advantage. If the Penguins can at least draw even with Minnesota in the special teams battle tonight, they should have a chance.

One last note I've been meaning to mention: The Penguins returned LW Paul Bissonette to Wilkes Barre late last week. Bissonette, who surprisingly made the team out of camp, had been scratched in 6 straight games. The team wasn't unsatisfied with him, however; they simply wanted to get him some playing time. Sending him to the baby Penguins was the right move, although it will be interesting to see who gets the next call up when necessary. I'm not convinced Bissonette will be that guy.

I'll try to post a game recap tomorrow ....