SCOUTING REPORT
Tonight's game: Penguins at Montreal Canadiens, 7:08 p.m., Molson Centre.
TV, radio: WNPA-19; WWSW-FM (94.5), WWSW-AM (970).
Penguins: Lost to Canadiens, 5-1, Dec. 20 at Molson Centre. ... RW Steve Leach doesn't have goal in 23 games, longest drought of any Penguin with at least one in NHL. ... Have recorded seven of their 19 victories against Northeast Division opponents.
Canadiens: Are on 3-0-1 roll, despite ranking 12th among 15 Eastern Conference teams. ... Have four short-handed goals at home, second-highest total in league. ... D Eric Weinrich, whose plus-minus rating through 45 games is plus-1, is only Canadien to appear in more than 31 gamesand have positive plus-minus.
Hidden stat: Canadiens have earned just 18 home-ice points, second-lowest total in NHL.
NOTEBOOK
A timely error: The Penguins' media guide and some pocket schedules the team distributed list tonight's starting time as 7:38, but the Penguins acknowledged yesterday that the game in Montreal will begin at 7:08 p.m.
Road to salvation: The Penguins have gone 0-5 on the road since a 4-2 victory Dec. 26 in Chicago and have one of the worst away records in the NHL at 6-16-1. The consensus seems to be that turning that around will require adherence to a simple, fundamentally sound style: Getting the puck in deep, reducing turnovers, eliminating bad penalites, etc. "Our first five or 10 minutes of a game, from now on, we're just going to have to dump the puck and go after it," LW Matthew Barnaby said. "If we want to win, we're going to have to smarten up in some areas of the game."
Jagr still hurting: RW Jaromir Jagr, who has an injured stomach muscle on his left side, reiterated that he won't play tonight or tomorrow, when Philadelphia visits Mellon Arena at 8:08 p.m. "It's still pretty sore," he said. "It's still the same." Jagr did not skate yesterday and planned to have his injury re-examined. "Hopefully, I'm going to skate Sunday, and see what's going to happen Monday," he said, adding that his goal still is to resume playing next week.
Getting it Wright: C Tyler Wright, who has been bothered by back spasms for most of the week, did not skate yesterday and Coach Herb Brooks dismissed any possibility that Wright might dress against the Canadiens. "Tyler Wright won't make the trip," he said. "Tyler's out." A short time earlier, team medical personnel characterized Wright as "questionable" for tonight and, barring a setback, almost certain to be in uniform for the Philadelphia game.
Barrasso back: G Tom Barrasso, who missed Thursday's practice will visiting with his ailing father in Boston, participated in yesterday's workout and is scheduled to make his fourth consecutive start tonight.
Thornton on outs: Canadiens C Scott Thornton is expected to be a healthy scratch for the second game in a row tonight and appears to be on the trading block. Thornton has two goals, three assists and 70 penalty minutes in 35 games this season. His fall from favor apparently was accelerated by a couple of ill-timed penalties in recent games.
MINOR-LEAGUE REPORT
Thursday's results
WILKES-BARRE SCRANTON (9-28-5) did not play. D Pavel Skrbek, one of the Penguins' top prospects at his position, was a healthy scratch in the Baby Penguins' past two games.
WHEELING (13-22-3) did not play.
