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Sunday, 15 January 2012 10:29

Written by Seth Rorabaugh

A preview of the Lightning.

When and where: 1 p.m. EST. St. Pete Times Forum.

TV: Root Sports, Sun Sports, NHL Network (Canada).

Record: 17-22-4, 38 points. The Lightning is in last place in the Eastern Conference and the Southeast Division.

Leading Scorer: Steve Stamkos, 49 points (30 goals, 19 assists).

Last Game: 4-3 road loss to the Capitals, Friday. Captain Vincent Lecavalier (right) had a goal and an assist for the Lightning.

Last Game against the Penguins: 4-1 home win, Nov. 17. Marc-Andre Fleury made 14 saves for the Penguins.

Lightning Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Steve Downie. Including postseason contests, he has scored in his last four games against the Penguins.

Ex-Penguins on the Lightning: Mathieu Garon, C; Adam Hall, RW; Greg Malone, head professional scout; Ryan Malone, LW; Dominic Moore, C.

Ex-Lightning on the Penguins: None.

Useless Lightning Trivia Vaguely Related to the Penguins: Former Penguins forward Chris Kontos holds the franchise record for goals in a game with four. He scored four goals in the Lightning's first game in franchise history, a 7-3 home win against the Blackhawks, Oct. 7, 1992.

Best Lightning Video We Could Find: A line brawl between the Penguins and Lightning in 1997-98 that included referee Mick McGoo literally throwing Lightning forward Darcy Tucker into the penalty box:

Probable goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury (20-12-2, 2.25 GAA, .914 SV%) for the Penguins and Dwayne Roloson (6-10-2, 3.68 GAA; .880 SV%) for the Lightning.

Injuries: For the Penguins, centers Sidney Crosby (head) Jordan Staal (knee), defensemen Simon Despres (knee) Kris Letang (head) are on injured reserve. For the Lightning, defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron ("upper body") and right winger J.T. Wyman ("upper body") are day to day. Defensemen Victor Hedman (concussion), Mattias Ohlund (knee), right wingers Adam Hall ("upper body") and Ryan Shannon ("lower body") are on injured reserve.

Potential lines and defensive pairings: The Penguins did not practice with a full crew yesterday. Their primary lines and defensive pairings against the Panthers Friday were:

Chris Kunitz - Evgeni Malkin - James Neal
Pascal Dupuis - Dustin Jeffrey - Tyler Kennedy
Matt Cooke - Richard Park - Steve Sullivan
Eric Tangradi - Craig Adams - Arron Asham

Paul Martin - Zbyenk Michalek
Brooks Orpik - Deryk Engelland
Matt Niskanen - Ben Lovejoy

-The Lightning's primary lines and defensive pairings against the Capitals Friday were:

Steve Downie - Steven Stamkos - Martin St. Louis
Dominic Moore - Vincent Lecavalier - Brett Connolly
Ryan Malone - Nate Thompson - Teddy Purcell
Pierre-Cedric Labre - Tom Pyatt - Dana Tyrell

Pavel Kubina - Eric Brewer
Matt Gilroy - Brett Clark
Bruno Gervais - Brendan Mikkelson

Notes:

-Martin has 198 career points.

-Park has 97 career goals.

-With a success rate of 13.5 percent, the Lightning's once dangerous power play ranks 28th in the league.

-Our live blog begins at approximately 12:45 p.m. Please tune in.

(Photo: Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

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