[UPDATE] Pre-Game Notes (Pittsburgh VS Minnesota)

CURRY RECALL CONFIRMED - some fans around the internet were questioning the validity of the information of Curry being recalled (even after it was posted on a legitimate news media source); I'm assuming that the announcement came later because the decision to recall him was later -- he even left later than Lovejoy did!!

LOVEJOY RECALL CONFIRMED

TWO BABY PENS RECALLED
according to the Times Leader (a local WB newspaper), the Penguins have recalled defenseman Ben Lovejoy (that confirms Orpik will not be in tonight's lineup and instead of playing Skoula, they want to give another young player a chance) and goalie John Curry; I'm not quite sure why they would recall Curry unless there's a chance that MAF or Johnson are hurt, but no word -- I'll keep you posted!!

the Times Leader reported that Lovejoy flew out to Minnesota early this morning while Curry left practice early to make the trip

RUMOR IS ... Fleury has been dealing with an injury to his left upper arm, but that's not confirmed by any reputable source

BROOKS ORPIK
although Orpik is "day-to-day," it seems unlikely that he will be in tonight's lineup, but nothing has yet been confirmed on that; I will post an update here as soon as I find out!!

LINE COMBINATIONS (projected)
Dupuis-Crosby-Guerin
Fedotenko-Malkin-Caputi
Cooke-Staal-Kennedy
Rupp-Talbot-Adams

Orpik (?) -Letang
Eaton-Gonchar
McKee-Goligoski

Minnesota Injury / Line Info
Clayton Stoner (D), groin injury - questionable
Brent Burns (D), concussion - has been skating, but his return is still uncertain
Pierre-Marc Bouchard (F), concussion - IR
Chuck Kobasew (F), knee - IR

INTERESTING Sykora "drama"
Wild's HC Todd Richards was to have sat down and had a talk with Sykora yesterday. He has been scratched from the past two games only because Richards is having a hard time finding him a place in the lineup especially since he'd be most effective on the top two lines (Sykora recently returned after being out six weeks with a concussion). He was told on Saturday that he wasn't playing, but that they wanted him to come in early for warmups while James Sheppard did not have to skate warmups. His agent, Allan Walsh, 'tweeted' that Sykora was being treated with less respect than a rookie. According to Michael Russo of The Star-Tribune (Russo's Rants),

But here's the deal: Sykora had a mega-deal in Russia. He was convinced to come here on a one-year deal by Chuck Fletcher, whom Sykora immensely respects, with apparently certain promises, like ice time and linemates.

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE