Game preview: Pens @ Florida Panthers

Preview - The Pens continue their road trip with a match tonight in Southern Florida. Catch the game at 7:30 on FSN-HD.

Pittsburgh is 3-0 against the Panthers this season, only allowing 3 goals in the three games. The two teams played a home/home series in early January with the Pens only giving up one goal in those two games. Conklin earned a shutout in the first game and only gave up one in the second. In the third game of this seasons series, Ryan Malone was the hero, scoring 2 goals in the final 3:20 of the game to erase a 2-1 deficit and earn the win. Tonight's game should not be much different than the previous 3. The Panthers are near the bottom of the conference and really have little to play for except pride. If the Pens start out with the intensity they have been able to play with recently, there should be little doubt as to the outcome of this match. My prediction: Pens 4, Panthers 1.

Injury Update - Jordan Staal should rejoin the line-up tonight. His bruised ribs have healed enough since the last game to allow him to skate.

News of Note - The Pens will break their previous record of sellouts in a single season when the Sabres visit the Igloo next Wednesday. The previous record of 34 was set in 1988-89 and tied again in 1989-90. Since the remaining games this season are expected to be sold out, expect that record to be at 42 when playoff time rolls around. This will also put the consecutive games sold out at 55 going back to March of 2007.