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Penguins take on Sens in Ottawa

Mar 15, 2011 - 3:03 PM (Sports Network) - Though there is no return to game action expected in the near future, the Penguins had to be glad to see captain Sidney Crosby back on the ice on Monday.

Pittsburgh has been keeping its head above water since the loss of the superstar and goes for a fourth victory in five games this evening against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place.

The Penguins have been without the services of Crosby since Jan. 5 because of a concussion. Though the center is still tops on the club with 32 goals and 66 points -- defenseman Kris Letang is second with 46 points -- despite having missed 29 straight games, Pittsburgh has gone 14-10-5 in that span even though it also lost forward Evgeni Malkin to a season-ending right knee injury in early February.

Crosby skated on Monday for the first time since his injury after being symptom free for a few days, but it is unknown when he will be able to return. The Penguins have 12 regular-season games remaining and currently sit fourth overall in the Eastern Conference, three points back of the top-seeded and Atlantic Division-leading Flyers, who visit the Panthers tonight.

"I've had some good days here the last few, and I was able to get on a bike and exercise a bit," said Crosby. "I didn't have any symptoms doing that. I was given the opportunity to skate, the doctors said I could give it a try and see how I feel. So I did that today, and we'll see moving forward how it goes."

In addition to Crosby, both forwards Eric Tangradi and Aaron Asham also hit the ice on Monday looking to return from concussions, though neither is expected back for this game. Also, defenseman Matt Niskanen (flu-like symptoms) didn't travel with the club and Letang (upper body) is questionable.

Pittsburgh bounced back nicely from a flat-looking 3-0 loss to Montreal on Saturday with a 5-1 rout of Edmonton the following day. Marc-Andre Fleury was pulled in the second period versus the Canadiens, but responded by making 28 saves on Sunday.

"Marc has a pretty strong history of rebounding," said Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma. "[Saturday] was a situation where we left him prone a couple times, and he let in three on 12 shots. It wasn't his own demise, but we needed to rebound."

Chris Kunitz scored twice, Tyler Kennedy had a career-high three assists and both Jordan Staal and Maxime Talbot ended with a goal and an assist as the Pens extended their club record of consecutive seasons with at least 40 wins to five straight (40-22-8).

Tonight will also mark the return of winger Alex Kovalev to Canada's capital city. The Senators dealt Kovalev to the Penguins on Feb. 24 after he spent a season and a half with the club. The 38-year-old totaled 32 goals in 131 games with the Senators and has just one goal in eight games with Pittsburgh.

Ottawa will be aiming to rebound tonight after having a three-game win streak halted with Sunday's 6-4 setback to Buffalo. Jason Spezza tied a season high of four points off a pair of goals and two assists, while Craig Anderson yielded four goals on 17 shots in 22-plus minutes.

Anderson came into the game 6-3-0 with a 1.44 goals-against average and .956 save percentage in nine starts since being acquired from the Avalanche. Curtis McElhinney yielded another two goals on 16 shots and took the loss.

"We gave them too many quality scoring chances and not enough stops on the other side," said Spezza.

The Senators, who are four points up on the Oilers for the fewest points in the league, wrapped a four-game road trip and will play their next three at home. However, they have lost 12 of their last 14 as the host.

Anderson is 2-0-0 with a tie and 1.13 GAA in his career versus the Pens, while Fleury is 6-8-1 with a 3.64 GAA lifetime against the Senators.

Pittsburgh won its first two games this season against Ottawa, both at home, before the Senators notched a 3-1 home victory on Dec. 26. Spezza had two assists in that game before exiting with an upper-body injury that sidelined him until Feb. 5.

The Penguins have lost four of their last five in Ottawa.