Penguins at Senators
The Pittsburgh Penguins got off to a rough start on their three-game road trip but hope to bounce back quickly as they visit the Ottawa Senators on Thursday. Pittsburgh had its five-game winning streak come to a screeching halt Wednesday as it allowed the first three goals at Washington and never recovered, dropping a 5-2 decision.
Captain Sidney Crosby notched an assist against the Capitals to remain one point ahead of Evgeni Malkin (44) for the team lead while Patric Hornqvist gave the Penguins six players with double-digit goal totals by scoring his 10th of the season. Ottawa split the first two contests of its four-game homestand, suffering a 1-0 loss to Washington on Saturday before topping Edmonton 5-3 the following night. Mark Stone scored a goal and set up two others while Kyle Turris netted his team-leading 14th tally as the Senators posted their 12th home win of the season, placing them second to Montreal (15) in the Atlantic Division. Defense was nothing more than an afterthought in the meeting in Pittsburgh on Dec. 5, when the Penguins outlasted Ottawa 8-5 behind Bryan Rust's first career hat trick.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, TSN5, ROOT (Pittsburgh), RDS2 (Ottawa)
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (26-9-5): Two players extended their point streaks to six games Wednesday, with one being among the most unlikely to have a run of that length. Phil Kessel notched a pair of assists to give him two goals and eight points during his streak while defenseman Justin Schultz has collected a tally and five assists on his career-best run. Pittsburgh assigned goaltender Tristan Jarry to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League and recalled defenseman David Warsofsky, who was a healthy scratch against Washington after appearing in four games with the Penguins earlier this season.
ABOUT THE SENATORS (21-14-4): Bobby Ryan returned to the lineup against Edmonton after being a healthy scratch the night before, a decision by coach Guy Boucher that failed to produce results. The 29-year-old Ryan failed to land on the scoresheet versus the Oilers, extending his point drought to five contests after a four-game goal-scoring streak provided hope that the four-time 30-goal scorer would regain his offensive touch. Captain Erik Karlsson leads the team in scoring with 32 points but enters Thurday with a four-game drought.
OVERTIME
1. Schultz's next assist will be the 100th of his career while Penguins C Eric Fehr is two points shy of 200 in the NHL.
2. Karlsson was selected to represent Ottawa at the All-Star Game later this month, marking the fourth time in his career the defenseman has received the honor.
3. Pittsburgh will be represented at the All-Star Game by Malkin and Crosby, who will serve as captain of the Metropolitan Division team.