Penguins  1    Lightning  3

Pittsburgh Penguins (26-14-1) at Tampa Bay Lightning (15-15-10), 3 p.m.

Sports Network | January 2, 2010

(Sports Network) - The Pittsburgh Penguins will try to avoid matching their longest losing streak of the season when they visit the Tampa Bay Lightning for today's battle at St. Pete Times Forum.

The Penguins have dropped their last three games, giving the defending Stanley Cup champions their longest skid since losing four in a row from November 5-12.

Pittsburgh's latest setback came Wednesday in New Jersey as the Devils notched a 2-0 win in a clash between the top two teams in the Atlantic Division. It was the second time in just over a week that Martin Brodeur and the Devils had blanked the Penguins, as Jersey also recorded a 4-0 victory in Pittsburgh on December 21.

Brodeur made 32 saves for the 105th shutout of his career, while Niclas Bergfors and Jamie Langenbrunner each had a goal for the Devils, who hold a four-point lead over the Pens for first place in the division.

Brent Johnson was sharp in net for Pittsburgh, as he stopped 31-of-32 shots, but it was not enough as the Penguins lost for the fourth time in their past five games.

"I would have liked for him to have got the win," said Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma. "Our team battled hard and we played a good game. We played it the way we needed to play, but we just couldn't get any past Brodeur."

The Penguins hope to have star defenseman Sergei Gonchar on the ice today after he suffered a bruised right foot while blocking a shot against New Jersey. Gonchar, who leads all Pittsburgh defensemen with 23 points this year, is questionable for this afternoon's tilt.

Pittsburgh, which is 13-7-0 as the guest this year, is playing the third test of a four-game road trip today. The Pens will complete the trek Sunday against the Florida Panthers.

The Lightning had a two-game win streak halted their last time out, as they dropped a close decision against visiting Montreal. Tomas Plekanec's goal 3:32 into overtime gave the Canadiens a 2-1 victory at St. Pete Times Forum.

Kurtis Foster scored the lone goal for the Lightning, who had also won four of five coming into the contest. Mike Smith made 33 stops in the loss.

The Lightning are closing out a five-game homestand today and are 2-1-1 so far on the residency. Tampa is 9-5-5 as the host this year.

The Pens earned a 4-1 home victory over Tampa on October 17 and have taken four straight and six of seven overall in this series. Pittsburgh has also come out on top in the last four meetings at the Forum.