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Pens shoot for another win in Atlanta

Nov 13, 2010 - 4:06 PM (Sports Network) - The Pittsburgh Penguins will try to record consecutive victories for the first time in over three weeks when they visit the Atlanta Thrashers tonight at Philips Arena.

The Penguins won for the second time in three games Friday night, posting a 5-1 victory over visiting Tampa Bay. Pittsburgh is still just 3-5-1 in its last nine games and hasn't won back-to-back tests since a four-game winning streak from October 15-21.

Pascal Dupuis, Sidney Crosby, and Maxime Talbot each registered a goal and an assist to lead the Penguins to the dominating win over the Lightning at CONSOL Energy Center.

Alex Goligoski and Deryk Engelland also scored for the Penguins, while Marc- Andre Fleury made 15 saves.

"We've been playing better hockey," Talbot said. "It was a big effort from everyone."

For Fleury, it was just his second win of the season in nine starts (2-6-0) and his first victory since beating Nashville on Oct. 21. It was also the 150th win of the 26-year-old's career.

It's not clear if Fleury or Brent Johnson will get the start in net tonight for Pittsburgh.

The Pens are 5-3-1 on the road this year, but have four losses in their last six away games.

The Thrashers will try to win consecutive games for the first time in two weeks tonight. The club has just two wins in six games (2-2-2) since beating the New York Rangers and Buffalo Sabres on October 27 and 29, respectively.

Atlanta was suffering through an 0-2-1 stretch before putting together Thursday's strong performance against visiting Minnesota. Andrew Ladd and Freddy Modin each scored a goal and dished out an assist in leading the Thrashers to the 5-1 decision at Philips Arena.

Ben Eager, Jim Slater and Nik Antropov also lit the lamp for the Thrashers, while Ondrej Pavelec made 32 saves.

"Great hockey in front of me. They didn't have a lot of scoring chances," Pavelec said. "Probably one of the best games we've played. That's the way we want to play."

Pavelec is expected to start tonight and Chris Mason will likely get the call in Sunday's game in Washington.

Atlanta has been without forward Bryan Little for the last six games, but he is expected to return from his concussion tonight. Little, who returned to practice on Wednesday, has one goal and three assists this season.

The Thrashers are just 3-3-1 as the host this year. They will visit Washington tomorrow before returning to Atlanta for a six-game homestand.

Atlanta won just one game in the season series against the Penguins last year, posting a 1-0 home victory over Pittsburgh in the final encounter between the clubs on April 10. That ended an eight-game slide against the Pens for Atlanta and marked just Atlanta's third victory in the last 13 tests against Pittsburgh.

The Penguins have lost six times in their last 10 trips to Philips Arena.