Penguins at Ducks
The league-leading Anaheim Ducks seek their fifth consecutive victory when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday. Anaheim has overtaken Nashville in the race for the Presidents' Trophy by winning seven of its last eight contests, allowing just one goal in each of the last three. The Ducks, who have a comfortable lead over Vancouver in the Pacific Division, skated to a 3-1 triumph over visiting Montreal on Wednesday as defenseman Francois Beauchemin scored his fourth goal in eight games.
Pittsburgh had its four-game winning streak halted Wednesday as it dropped a 3-1 decision at Colorado in the opener of its four-game road trip. Evgeni Malkin scored the lone goal - his 27th - for the Penguins, extending his point streak to six games in the process. Pittsburgh posted a 6-4 home victory on Oct. 9 in the season opener for both teams, with captain Sidney Crosby recording two goals and an assist and teammate Pascal Dupuis netting a tally and setting up three others while Anaheim's Corey Perry registered his sixth career hat trick.
TV: 10 p.m. ET, RSN, ROOT (Pittsburgh), Prime Ticket (Anaheim)
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (36-18-9): Pittsburgh has two players - both former Ducks - hitting milestones on Friday. Chris Kunitz will be appearing in his 400th game as a Penguin while defenseman Ben Lovejoy will play in his 100th with the club. The 31-year-old Lovejoy, who was acquired from Anaheim on Monday, spent the first 98 contests of his 249-game NHL career with the Penguins.
ABOUT THE DUCKS (42-17-7): Rookie John Gibson filled in admirably during Frederik Andersen's absence and has continued to perform well upon the Swede's return. The 21-year-old Pittsburgh native has won six of his last seven decisions, allowing a total of 13 goals in that span. Beauchemin's goal against Montreal was his eighth of the season, tying his career high set in 2005-06 and matched in 2011-12.
OVERTIME
1. Ducks C Nate Thompson's next point will be the 100th of his career.
2. Malkin has collected six goals and six assists during his point streak.
3. Anaheim LW Jiri Sekac has recorded three assists in five games since being acquired from Montreal.