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Pittsburgh Penguins (46-27-7) at Atlanta Thrashers (34-34-13), 7 p.m.

Sports Network | April 10, 2010

(Sports Network) - The Penguins have little margin for error if they hope to win a tight race for the Atlantic Division title. Good thing Pittsburgh has been perfect when playing the Thrashers over the last two seasons.

Still locked in a tie for first place in the division, the Pens will try to record their ninth consecutive victory over Atlanta this evening at Philips Arena.

Aiming for its second Atlantic Division title in three seasons, the Penguins are currently tied with the Devils atop the division standings with 99 points and identical 46-27-7 records. Both clubs have two games remaining, as Pittsburgh visits the Islanders tomorrow, while New Jersey hosts the Isles tonight before getting a visit Sunday from the Sabres.

The Penguins will have to win the points race with the Devils, who swept the season series and own the tie break. Pittsburgh, which can finish no lower than the fourth seed, would cede the division title tonight with a regulation loss and a victory by the Devils versus New York.

Pittsburgh has won four of its last six and plays its final two games on the road. Thursday night, the club closed out Mellon Arena's regular-season schedule in style with a 7-3 pounding of the Islanders. Nicknamed "The Igloo", Mellon Arena has served as the Penguins home since they entered the league in 1967. However, the Pens will move into the Consol Energy Center for next season.

One of Pittsburgh's newest stars helped make it a special night, as Sidney Crosby had a goal and three assists in the victory. Crosby posted his career- high 49th goal of the season and was originally credited with his 50th before a review instead credited the tally to Bill Guerin, his second of the night.

The 22-year-old Crosby went over the 500-point mark for his career as well, becoming the third fastest player to reach the plateau. Only Wayne Gretzky and Penguins legend Mario Lemieux did it faster than Crosby.

"We got two big points here on a night when there's expectations," Crosby said. "We wanted to finish off strong here. I think everyone is happy with the result...These next two games are that much more important for us."

Crosby has four goals and 12 assists in his last seven games, giving him 104 points on the season. He is also second in the NHL in goals scored, one behind Washington's Alex Ovechkin.

Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 32 shots for the Penguins, who have lost seven of their last 10 on the road and are 21-15-3 as the guest this season.

Pittsburgh will be without Alexi Ponikarovsky for its final two regular season games after he received a two-game suspension for hitting New York forward Josh Bailey into the boards in the third period on Thursday. Bailey was injured on the play, while Ponikarovsky was assessed a major penalty for boarding and game misconduct.

Atlanta will look to play the role of spoiler tonight and try to avoid ending the season on a five-game losing streak. The Thrashers' current slide reached four games last night with a 5-2 loss to Washington that featured a pair of goals by Ovechkin.

Evgeny Artyukhin and Clarke MacArthur each had a goal for the Thrashers, while Ondrej Pavelec stopped 42 shots in the loss.

"We had our chances tonight but we couldn't do anything with them," said Atlanta head coach John Anderson. "I thought we played good against them, but what are you going to do when you go up against a juggernaut like that."

Atlanta has also dropped four in a row at home, where it is 18-16-6 this season.

The Thrashers haven't beaten the Penguins since Jan. 30, 2008, and their current eight-game slide to Pittsburgh includes three straight home losses.