Preview: Penguins at Blues

[January 18, 2016]  The Pittsburgh Penguins look to continue racking up the points when they visit the St. Louis Blues on Monday. Pittsburgh has earned at least one point in eight of its last nine games, improving to 4-1-4 during that stretch with Sunday's 5-0 home triumph over Carolina.

The Penguins hope to have Kris Letang back in the lineup after the defenseman missed the meeting with the Hurricanes due to an upper-body injury. St. Louis got past Montreal in overtime on Saturday for its second win on a four-game homestand that wraps up Monday. Vladimir Tarasenko ranks among the league leaders with 24 goals but enters with a five-game drought and has scored only two over his last 11 contests. Pittsburgh is hoping to sweep the two-game season series after posting a 4-3 home triumph on Nov. 25 thanks to Evgeni Malkin's overtime tally.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, Sportsnet, TVA, ROOT (Pittsburgh)

ABOUT THE PENGUINS (21-16-7): Carl Hagelin made his Pittsburgh debut on Sunday, recording four shots and a plus-1 rating in 13 minutes, 15 seconds of ice time. The 27-year-old Swede was acquired on Saturday from Anaheim, where he registered four goals and eight assists in 43 games. Captain Sidney Crosby has recorded seven two-point performances over his last 13 contests, including a two-goal effort versus the Hurricanes to end his four-game drought.

ABOUT THE BLUES (26-15-7): Jay Bouwmeester could return to action Monday after missing four games with an upper-body injury. Fellow defenseman Carl Gunnarsson, however, is not yet ready to return from a similar ailment and will sit out his fourth straight contest. Captain David Backes is on the verge of claiming fifth place on the franchise's all-time penalty minutes list after tying Chris Pronger for the spot on Saturday at 931.

OVERTIME

1. Blues G Brian Elliott is expected to start Monday, two days after making a career-high 46 saves in his 150th victory.

2. Pittsburgh D David Warsofsky is questionable after suffering a head injury in a collision with a lineseman on Sunday.

3. St. Louis recalled D Andre Benoit from Chicago of the American Hockey League.

PREDICTION: Blues 4, Penguins 3

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