

PENS SEND BENNETT TO WBS

The Pens announced that they've sent forward Beau Bennett to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He had a nice introduction to the NHL, and will no doubt return sooner than later. But for now at least he'll get a chance to play top-end minutes in the AHL.







--Sam Kasan



VERIZON GAME DAY REPORT





--Sam Kasan



SOUNDS HEARD AROUND THE ROOM



Dan Bylsma







Sidney Crosby







James Neal







Brooks Orpik









--Sam Kasan



BOLTS PICS





Former Pen Ryan Malone in the middle. He won't play tonight due to a lower-body injury





Brewer rips a shot









Crombeen with a little gap





Labrie in mid-stroke



--Sam Kasan & Wes Crosby



THEY SAID IT...







--Michelle Crechiolo





MALKIN IS BACK

Head coach Dan Bylsma confirmed that Malkin will play tonight versus Tampa Bay. He passed his ImPACT test and will be in the lineup.



"Evgeni Malkin was cleared for full contact (Sunday), went through the full practice and in the afternoon he took his ImPACT test and passed, and is cleared to play, and will be playing tonight in the game versus Tampa Bay," Bylsma said.



"We followed protocol carefully and took every precaution possible. In this case, Evgeni had memory loss that returned. He felt good for seven full days. He's worked out hard on and off the ice for those seven day, full contact, full go in practice. We're not talking about gut feelings. He's gone through the protocol and the steps. It's been seven full days. As coaches we aren't involved with the protocol. He's seen doctors and went through the regiment and finished all those (Sunday)."







--Sam Kasan



PENS PICS





Tyler Kennedy





Kris Letang chats with coach Todd Reirden





Pascal Dupuis





Evgeni Malkin at the morning skate





Malkin aims for the shot





Sidney Crosby lays into a shot



--Sam Kasan & Wes Crosby





MORNING SKATE INFO

Evgeni Malkin is at morning skate with the team and skated on a line with James Neal and Matt Cooke. It doesn't necessarily mean he'll play, but it's a good sigh of his progress if nothing else. Paul Martin skated earlier in the day on his own in full gear.



Kunitz-Crosby-Dupuis

Cooke-Malkin-Neal

Jeffrey-Sutter-Kennedy

Glass-Vitale-Adams

(Bennett, Boychuk)



Orpik-Letang

Eaton-Niskanen

Engelland-Bortuzzo/Despres



Malkin also worked the point with the top PP unit:

Malkin, Letang up top. Kunitz, Crosby, Neal down below.





--Sam Kasan



PLAYS OF THE WEEK





--Sam Kasan



GAME PREVIEW





After an embarrassing 4-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Thursday – where the Bolts were outshot 20-3 after the first period alone – general manager Steve Yzerman told Damian Cristodero of the Tampa Bay Times, "We just look a bit rattled right now and unsure of ourselves and unsure of what we're doing and our responsibilities.” The Lightning followed that up with a much-improved effort on Saturday in Boston, but still fell 3-2 to the Bruins.



A lot just hasn’t been going right for the Bolts, but their offense continues to be strong. Still the league’s best, in fact. The Bolts rank just ahead of Pittsburgh in that category with an average of 3.48 goals per game. Young superstar Steven Stamkos continues to tear up the league as he enters Monday’s game on a nine-game point streak, where he’s totaled eight goals and 15 points during that stretch. He was named the NHL’s ‘First Star’ for February, posting 10 goals and 20 points in 14 games that month, and his 15 total goals lead the NHL.



Full story here.



--Sam Kasan



START THE DAY

Good morning Pens fans. Today the team will hit the ice at 10:30 a.m. at CONSOL Energy Center in preparation for their 7:30 p.m. showdown with the Tampa Bay Lightning.





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We'll start the day with a pretty superb song by Imagine Dragons. It's been getting regular air play in NHL arenas this season, and for good reason. The heavy bass drum should get your blood flowing. Here is "Radioactive."







--Sam Kasan