Ducks at Penguins
Two of the league's top teams will attempt to break out of slumps when the Pittsburgh Penguins host the Anaheim Ducks on Monday night. The Ducks surged to the top of the league standings on the heels of an 8-0-1 stretch but they will be trying to avoid a winless four-game road trip that has seen the team score only five goals in the first three contests. Anaheim has prevailed in the past two meetings with the Penguins, including a 2-1 victory in Pittsburgh in February 2012.
The Penguins owned the best record in the Eastern Conference following back-to-back victories over Columbus on Nov. 1-2, but they have been in a spiral after posting four losses in the past five games. Pittsburgh is coming off a 4-1 setback at New Jersey on Saturday night and has scored one goal in each of the last four defeats. "We've been in tight games, one-goal games," Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said. "We haven't been able to win them. That's a common theme."
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBCS, TSN2, RDS, ROOT (Pittsburgh)
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (12-8-0): It's not difficult to pinpoint the reasons for Pittsburgh's inability to score - superstar Sidney Crosby has only one goal in his last 10 games while fellow stud Evgeni Malkin has gone 13 goals without a goal - the longest drought of his career. Malkin has not scored since Oct. 17 and has accumulated only nine shots on goal in seven games in November. "At the end of the day, you gotta score and if you're getting chances, I don't know what you change," Crosby said. "You try to go to the net just as much, you try to work on those little things."
ABOUT THE DUCKS (15-5-2): Viktor Fasth made his first start in a month in Friday's shootout loss at Carolina and more fresh bodies could be in the lineup for Monday's game. Saku Koivu, who has missed the past 10 games due to a concussion, participated fully in Sunday's practice, as did fellow forward Matt Beleskey, who appeared in only the first two games before suffering a fractured thumb. Mathieu Perreault, who is third on the team in scoring with five goals and nine assists, also was back at practice after missing Friday's game with flu-like symptoms.
OVERTIME
1. Malkin, who had a six-game point streak halted in Saturday's loss, has a goal and four assists in six contests versus Anaheim.
2. Ducks RW Corey Perry had a goal and an assist Friday to tie captain Ryan Getzlaf for the team lead with 23 points.
3. The Penguins own a decided edge on special teams on Anaheim, which ranks among the bottom five on the power play (11.7 percent) and penalty kill (75.4).