Pittsburgh @ Anaheim preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 10, 2019 ) Anaheim 1, Pittsburgh 2

A four-game losing streak represents a startling turn of events for the Pittsburgh Penguins, who lost a total of four contests in regulation in their previous 22 games (16-4-2). The Penguins look to get back on track Friday when they visit the Anaheim Ducks.

"We know that points are important, and we want to be playing well this time of year," Pittsburgh superstar captain Sidney Crosby said. "Obviously you don't want to drop four in a row, but it's the reality we face. I feel like we probably deserved a little better the last few games, but you don't get points for that." Crosby has had little issue producing points against Anaheim, doing so for the 15th time in 17 career meetings with a goal and an assist in a 2-1 victory on Oct. 10. While the Penguins will be bidding for their 10th win in their last 14 encounters with the Ducks, the latter is just looking to record consecutive victories at home for the first time since Oct. 29-Nov. 1. Trade deadline acquisition Sonny Milano gave his new home fans a thrill on Tuesday as he capped a two-goal performance by scoring 2:05 into overtime in a 4-3 win over Edmonton.

TIME: 10 p.m. ET. TV: AT&T SportsNet-Pittsburgh, FS West

ABOUT THE PENGUINS (37-19-6): After totaling at least 13 points in each of his previous three months, Bryan Rust is showing signs of heating up after being held off the scoresheet in eight of his first nine games in February. The 27-year-old set up Evgeni Malkin's third-period goal in Sunday afternoon's 5-3 loss at Washington before the latter returned the favor on Rust's team-leading 24th tally of the season in Wednesday's 2-1 setback to Los Angeles. Malkin, who was playing in his 900th NHL game, is riding a three-game point streak (three goals, two assists).

ABOUT THE DUCKS (25-30-8): Milano was one of five players donning an Anaheim jersey for the first time on Wednesday, and the new-look lineup was not lost on Adam Henrique. "Strange day with the number of different faces coming in," the 30-year-old Henrique said. "A lot of times it's one or two guys, but (Wednesday) it was a lot of guys. I thought everybody did a good job coming in and just playing hockey." Henrique scored his club-best 24th goal in the third period and added an assist on Milano's overtime tally to boost his point total to 12 (seven goals, five assists) in his last eight games.

OVERTIME

1. Anaheim G John Gibson, who is a Pittsburgh native, sports a 4-5-0 record with one shutout against his hometown team.

2. The Penguins boast a 20-5-2 record versus Western Conference representatives, including a 9-3-2 mark against Pacific Division foes.

3. Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf has just three of his club-best 27 assists in the last dozen games.

PREDICTION: Penguins 3, Ducks 2