(My Sportsbook) - The Penguins and Lightning will both be trying to avoid a fourth consecutive loss when Pittsburgh hosts Tampa Bay in this evening's clash at Mellon Arena.

The Penguins, last season's Eastern Conference champions, are 0-2-1 in their last three contests and are currently outside the playoff picture. Pittsburgh is 10th in the East with 53 points and is three behind Florida for the conference's eighth and final postseason berth.

Tampa Bay, which is 12th in the East with 44 points, has lost three straight games after tying a season best with wins in its previous three contests.

The Penguins play at Montreal on Tuesday night and were handed a 4-2 loss by the Canadiens as Roman Hamrlik registered a goal and an assist to lead the hometown Habs at the Bell Centre.

Luca Caputi notched a goal in his NHL debut for the Penguins, who have also lost four of five and are just 5-11-1 in their last 17 games.

Evgeni Malkin added a power-play tally and leads the NHL in assists (54) and points (76). Sidney Crosby, who is second in the league with 68 points, was held scoreless for just the second time in the last 11 games.

Marc-Andre Fleury surrendered four goals on 35 shots and fell to 1-2-1 in his last four starts.

Pittsburgh center Tyler Kennedy was absent from the lineup, serving a one-game suspension for leaving the bench and instigating a fight with Maple Leafs rookie defenseman Luke Schenn after a hard hit on Malkin during Saturday's loss in Toronto. Kennedy is expected to be back in the lineup tonight.

This evening's test kicks off a four-game homestand for the Penguins, who are 12-11-2 as the host club this season and have lost seven of their last 11 home games.

The Lightning, meanwhile, have been outscored, 9-2, in their last two losses, getting slammed by a 6-1 count against visiting Philadelphia on Friday and dropping Tuesday's 3-1 road decision to the New York Islanders.

Yann Danis made 29 saves and Mark Streit notched the game-winning goal as the Islanders topped Tampa Bay, 3-1, at Nassau Coliseum.

Vincent Lecavalier picked up the lone goal for the Lightning.

Starter Karri Ramo was pulled after allowing three goals on 16 shots in almost 30 minutes. Mike McKenna made his NHL debut in relief and stopped all 11 shots he faced. Regular No. 1 goaltender Mike Smith is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

The Lightning are 9-15-3 as the guest this year and are completing a brief two-game road trip tonight. Following tonight's test, the Bolts will return to Tampa for a six-game homestand, which begins with Saturday's test against the Islanders.

Tampa posted a 2-0 victory in Pittsburgh on December 23 in the only meeting between the clubs this season. The Pens have won three of the last five encounters, but the Bolts have won 14 out of 17 in the series. The Lightning have also come out on top in eight of their last nine trips to the Steel City.