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Pens take aim at third straight victory in clash with Habs

Mar 12, 2011 - 3:16 PM (Sports Network) - The Pittsburgh Penguins will aim for a third straight victory when they welcome the Montreal Canadiens for this afternoon's battle at CONSOL Energy Center.

The Penguins enter tonight with 86 points, leaving them four behind Philadelphia for the Atlantic Division lead and two points ahead of Tampa Bay for the Eastern Conference's fourth seed.

Pittsburgh has recorded at least a point in five straight contests, going 3-0-2 over that stretch. Today, the Pens can post their first three-game winning streak since rattling off five straight victories from Jan. 22-Feb. 4.

Today's meeting marks the finale of the regular-season series between the Penguins and Montreal. The Canadiens won the first two encounters this year, but Pittsburgh recorded a 5-2 road victory over the Habs when the clubs last met in Montreal on Jan. 12.

That loss ended a three-game series' winning streak for Montreal, which has taken four of its last seven games in the Steel City.

The Canadiens will try to gain some ground on Pittsburgh in the East standings today, as Montreal is currently seeded sixth in the conference and is five points behind the Penguins.

Pittsburgh ended a two-game slide with last Saturday's overtime win in Boston and followed with Tuesday's home win over Buffalo. Marc-Andre Fleury made 29 stops to help the Penguins take the 3-1 decision over the Sabres.

Zbynek Michalek, Mark Letestu and James Neal each had a goal and an assist for the Penguins, who had lost six out of seven games before posting back-to-back wins.

Today's test marks the first for Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma since he signed a three-year extension with Pittsburgh on Wednesday. Bylsma, who led the Pens to a Stanley Cup title in 2009, is now signed through the 2013-14 season.

The Pens, who are 21-11-2 as the host this season, are playing the middle test of a three-game homestand today and will close the residency tomorrow afternoon against Edmonton. Fleury and backup goaltender Brent Johnson will likely split the starts this weekend.

Montreal had a five-game winning streak halted in its last trip to the ice, getting dealt a 4-1 setback Thursday in St. Louis. Jaroslav Halak was nearly flawless in his first game against his former team, making 27 saves to lead the Blues to the victory.

Halak, who was an integral part of the Canadiens' run to the Eastern Conference finals last spring, was dealt to St. Louis in June for two players. He stopped all 10 shots he faced in the third period to preserve the win.

Jeff Halpern notched the lone goal for the emotionally drained Canadiens, who returned the ice for the first time since a brutal hit by Bruins captain Zdeno Chara on forward Max Pacioretty sent him to hospital with a severe concussion and vertebra fracture in his neck on Tuesday.

Carey Price, who the Canadiens kept in favor of Halak, yielded three goals on 26 shots in the loss.

"The important thing is we regroup and go out there again," Montreal forward Brian Gionta said. "We have to provide a little more spark than that."

Thursday's loss also snapped a four-game road winning streak for the Habs, who are 16-16-1 as the guest this season.

The Canadiens played their last game without defenseman Brent Sopel, who is questionable for today's tilt with an upper-body injury.