Duels to watch: Pittsburgh aiming for a seventh straight victory
Penguins back on the winning streak
Frustration has given way to satisfaction as the Pittsburgh Penguins look to secure a seventh straight win by visiting the Florida Panthers at FLA Live Arena on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; BSFL, ATTSN-PT, ESPN+, SN NOW).
The Penguins (17-8-4) were looking for solutions earlier this season when they went 0-6-1 between Oct. 24 and Nov. 5. Since then, however, they have maintained a 13-2-2 record.
Sidney Crosby is obviously no stranger to these successes, he who leads the Penguins with 38 points (17 goals, 21 assists). Evgeny Malkin is on par with Jake Guentzel second in team scoring with 29 points (nine goals, 20 assists) and has had at least one point in six consecutive games (one goal, eight assists). The defender Kris Letang, who suffered a stroke Nov. 28, was on the ice for 27:35 in Monday’s 2-1 win over the Dallas Stars. In other words, the players who made the Penguins a Stanley Cup champion are leading the charge again this season.
The Panthers (14-12-4) have just four wins in their last 10 meetings (4-4-2) and end a three-game home streak in which they went 1-1 -0. Four of Florida’s next six games will be played away. – Tracey Myers, NHL.com Reporter
Sequences at stake between the Maple Leafs and the Rangers
The Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Rangers will look to extend streaks when they meet at Madison Square Garden on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; MSG, TSN4, ESPN+, SN NOW).
Mitchell Marner will be looking for at least one point in a 24th straight game, having added two assists in Toronto’s 7-0 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday. The forward has 32 points (11 goals, 21 assists) during this streak, which is the longest in franchise history.
Video: ANA@TOR: Marner sets the table for Tavares
Marner’s success coincides with a four-game winning streak for the Maple Leafs (19-5-6), who have also won 12 of their last 15 games (12-0-3).
The Rangers (15-10-5) are also doing very well these days. They have won their most recent four games, their longest such streak this season. They just defeated the New Jersey Devils 4-3 in overtime on Monday.
Chris Kreider will try to extend his success at home, he who has at least one point in 11 straight games at Madison Square Garden for a total of 11 points (seven goals, four assists). His teammate Vincent Trocheck will reach 400 NHL career points if he scores two points on Thursday. – William Douglas, NHL.com reporter
A very encouraging first step for the Devils
The New Jersey Devils are down three straight games (0-2-1) for the first time this season and they will try to end that short lethargy by hosting the Philadelphia Flyers at Prudential Center on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; MSGSN , NBCSP, ESPN+, SN NOW).
New Jersey (21-6-2) started the campaign with back-to-back losses and has not suffered back-to-back losses until its current streak. The team even signed 13 consecutive victories between October 25 and November 21.
The Devils suffered a 4-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on Tuesday, a game in which the forward Jack Hughes saw its streak of eight games with at least one point come to an end (eight goals, five assists).
Video: NJD@NYR: Quite a fake from Hughes that makes it 3-1
The Flyers (9-14-7) also want to end a losing streak. They haven’t won in four games (0-2-2) and have only two wins since Nov. 10 (2-6-2). During this streak, they are the third-worst offense in the NHL with an average of 2.17 goals per game. Alone Kevin Hayes (17 points) and Travis Konecny (11) obtained more than 10 points during this period.
Philadelphia wraps up a four-game road trip, where the team has the sixth-worst record in the NHL (3-6-6).
On Thursday…
Anaheim Ducks vs Montreal Canadiens (7 p.m. ET; RDS, TSN2, BSSC, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Columbus Blue Jackets at Tampa Bay Lightning (7 p.m. ET; BSSUNX, BSOH, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Dallas Stars at Washington Capitals (7 p.m. ET; NBCSWA, BSSW, ESPN+, SN NOW) | OVERVIEW
Los Angeles Kings at Boston Bruins (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, SNE, SNO, SNP, NESN, BSW, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Philadelphia Flyers at New Jersey Devils (7 p.m. ET; MSGSN, NBCSP, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Pittsburgh Penguins at Florida Panthers (7 p.m. ET; BSFL, ATTSN-PT, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Seattle Kraken at Carolina Hurricanes (7 p.m. ET; BSSO, ROOT-NW, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Toronto Maple Leafs at New York Rangers (7 p.m. ET; TSN4, MSG, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Nashville Predators at Winnipeg Jets (8 p.m. ET; TSN3, BSSO, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Vegas Golden Knights at Chicago Blackhawks (8:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCH, ATTSN-RM, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Buffalo Sabers at Colorado Avalanche (9 p.m. ET; SN360, SNE, SNO, SNP, ALT, MSG-B, ESPN+, SN NOW)
St. Louis Blues at Edmonton Oilers (9 p.m. ET; SNW, BSMW, ESPN+, SN NOW)
