Penguins/Flames Preview

The Penguins welcome the Calgary Flames to the Mellon Arena ice tonight in a big contest for the local club against one of the better teams in the Western Conference.

For Pittsburgh, the matchup is big because other teams clustered around them in the Eastern Conference playoff race keep winning. Both Montreal and the New York Rangers scored regulation wins last night. New York's victory pulled them into a tie with the Penguins with 86 points, and technically put them above Pittsburgh in the standings since, even though the teams have the exact same record, the Rangers would have the tiebreaker after getting the better of the season series -- a series which, by the way, wraps up with a big game Saturday afternoon at Mellon.

The Montreal Canadiens also broke a 5 game losing streak by whipping the Atlanta Thrashers last night. They sit 3 points behind the Penguins in 8th place.

The Florida Panthers still sit in 9th, 5 points back of Pittsburgh.

Calgary is a team that poses problems for anyone. They have top end scorers and solid offensive depth, a stud on the backline, and a goaltender who just wins games.

Of course, the Flames are led by their captain, RW Jarome Iginla, who leads the team in points with 83 on 31 goals and 52 assists. He is joined on the first line by new trade deadline acquisition Olli Jokinen, who has played very well since joining Calgary. Jokinen is accustomed to having good games against Pittsburgh, so the Penguins will have to watch out for him tonight.

The guy who leads Calgary in goal-scoring -- and who is the 3rd part of the Flames' top line -- may be a bit of a surprise. LW Mike Cammalleri, a player who I hoped the Penguins might try to snag last season, has 36 goals to lead the Flames. Add his 39 helpers into the picture and you have a top end offensive option. Cammalleri is a quick, shifty forward with decent speed and good hands. He showed flashes of all of those talents for the LA Kings before coming to the Flames.

The Penguins would be wise to match up defenseman Sergei Gonchar and Brooks Orpik against that trio. It's one of the best lines the Penguins have seen -- and will see -- all season, and they need their best pairing to play well against them if they are going to have a chance to win.

As I mentioned, the Flames have some offensive depth, as well. Guys like Daymond Langkow and Todd Bertuzzi have contributed. Then they have guys you may not have heard of like Rene Bourque and David Moss. Bourque has 21 goals and Moss 19.

Dion Phaneuf is their stud on the backline. He has 11 goals and 43 points for them this year. Somewhat surprisingly, he is a minus 11, though.

Mikka Kiprusoff, Calgary's netminder, already has 42 wins, putting him within striking distance of the NHL record for most wins in a single season, 48, held by Martin Brodeur. Kiprusoff plays a lot, so he'll probably get every game for the Flames down the stretch. If they go on a run, he could possibly get that record.

The Flames are coached by hard-nosed bench boss Mike Keenan. Keenan still has somewhat of an abrasive style that might not fit well on every club, but he's positioned the Flames solidly in 3rd place in the Western Conference, and there's no doubt he'll have them ready for the Penguins tonight.

There is a possibility that Pens' interim head coach Dan Bylmsa may insert defenseman Phillipe Boucher back into the lineup tonight. Boucher is ready to go and will need to play sometime soon, but Bylmsa was non-committal yesterday as to when. If he plays, expect Hal Gill to be scratched.

The Penguins also gave Max Talbot a little time on LW on the 2nd line with Evgeni Malkin and Petr Sykora in practice yesterday. There's no word on whether we'll see that group together tonight or, if so, how much, but it's clear that Bylmsa is trying to jump-start LW Ruslan Fedotenko a little bit, who has been in a terrible slump the last 5-6 weeks. Sykora also hasn't gotten on the board often recently, and it would be nice to get those guys going.

Marc-Andre Fleury is expected to be in goal for the Penguins tonight.

Recap tomorrow.