TAMPA, Fla. -- Brooks Orpik understood how important Ryan Malone was to the Penguins' success when Malone played for them.

But it wasn't until this season, after the Penguins traded Malone to Tampa Bay when it became clear they wouldn't be able to re-sign him, that Orpik realized just why Malone has developed into such an effective power forward.

"When he was on our team, I didn't realize how big and strong he is in front of the net," Orpik said.

Well, a lot of other defensemen around the NHL have known that for a while, and the Penguins will be reminded of it again tonight, when they face the Lightning at the St. Pete Times Forum.

"He's one of those guys you'd rather have on your team than to play against," Orpik said.

Whether Tampa Bay has gotten a reasonable return on the $31.5 million, seven-year contract it gave Malone last summer can be debated, but Malone is having a pretty productive season, with 26 goals and 19 assists in 69 games. That ties Vaclav Prospal for third place in the team scoring race.

Malone was the first player trained in Western Pennsylvania to play for the Penguins and is the son of former Penguins center and scout Greg Malone, so his ties to the franchise run deep.

Orpik allowed that "I'm sure it was weird for him, especially back in Pittsburgh," but added that it didn't have an impact on the way Malone approached the Lightning's first three games against his old club.

"He played just as hard as he usually does," Orpik said. "He's a big, physical guy."

The Penguins can clinch a playoff berth -- and no worse than the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference -- by beating the Lightning this evening, thanks to tiebreakers.

A victory would give them 95 points, which matches the total the Florida Panthers and the New York Rangers, who are tied for eight place in the East, could earn if both win their remaining three games.

However, even if the Panthers and Rangers would run the table, a victory against Tampa Bay would give the Penguins 43 for the season, and Florida cannot finish with more than 42.

Total victories is the first tiebreaker and the second -- points gained in head-to-head competition -- is where the Penguins would have an edge over New York. Although the Rangers could accumulate 43 victories, the Penguins took eight points out of the season series, while New York earned just six.

Tampa Bay claimed center Steven Stamkos with the first choice in June's entry draft, and he was the focus of a major marketing campaign in Florida long before he skated his first shift in the NHL.

And even though he struggled early, Stamkos has rebounded to put together a pretty fair rookie season. He has 21 goals, which ties him for third among first-year players and matches the franchise rookie record set by Brad Richards in 2000-01.

Penguins center SidneyCrosby had the most celebrated and scrutinized arrival in recent NHL history and said the Stamkos situation was not unlike what he went through, on many levels.

"It's very similar, when you look at it," Crosby said. "They got a lot of free agents, they had high expectations for the team. I remember my first year, they were talking about the Stanley Cup in August and September."

The Penguins, of course, failed to get into the playoffs that season, let alone compete for the Stanley Cup, as big-name free agents such as Sergei Gonchar and Ziggy Palffy did not have the positive impact then-general manager Craig Patrick had expected. Tampa Bay's season followed the same course.

The Penguins will accept contributions to the "Pittsburgh Fallen Heroes Fund" before Thursday's game against the New York Islanders at 7:38 p.m. at Mellon Arena. The fund was established by the Fraternal Order of Police to support the families of officers Eric Kelly, Stephen Mayhle and Paul Sciullo II, who died in the line of duty Saturday in Stanton Heights. ... The Penguins' second goal in their 3-2 overtime loss at Carolina Saturday, originally credited to Jordan Staal, has been given to RuslanFedotenko after a review by league officials. ... The Lightning will be without its second-leading scorer, center Vincent Lecavalier, who had surgery Friday to repair damage to his right wrist. He had 29 goals and 38 assists in 77 games.