Anaheim @ Pittsburgh preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 17, 2018 ) Pittsburgh 3, Anaheim 5

The Pittsburgh Penguins bid to post their fifth straight win at PPG Paints Arena on Monday when they conclude a three-game homestand against the Anaheim Ducks. The Penguins improved to 6-1-1 in their last eight home contests after they followed Friday's 5-3 victory versus Boston with a 4-3 overtime triumph against Los Angeles the following night.

Phil Kessel recorded his ninth career overtime goal and first of the season on Saturday as Pittsburgh improved to 5-1-1 in its last seven contests overall. The 31-year-old answered a fruitless three-game road trip by scoring in back-to-back contests to move within one of Sidney Crosby (15) for the team lead in goals while matching the captain and Evgeni Malkin with a club-best 35 points. Red-hot Anaheim emerged victorious in its third straight contest and improved to 8-1-0 in its last nine after opening a six-game road trip with Saturday's 2-1 overtime triumph in Columbus. Daniel Sprong, who was traded from the Penguins on Dec. 3, capped his two-goal performance by scoring 1:19 into overtime as Anaheim skated to its fifth straight victory on the road.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, NHL Network, Sportsnet, Prime Ticket (Anaheim), AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh

ABOUT THE DUCKS (18-11-5): Pittsburgh native John Gibson has seen a change in attitude for his club after Anaheim dropped a 5-2 decision in Music City on Nov. 25. "After that Nashville game, we knew our record wasn't very good," the 25-year-old Gibson told reporters. "We had to take more pride in it. We're playing the right way now. You're seeing the results." Gibson enjoyed positive results against his hometown team last season, highlighted by a 29-save shutout in a 4-0 win on Dec. 23 to improve to 3-3-0 with a 3.73 goals-against average and .889 save percentage in six career encounters with the Penguins.

ABOUT THE PENGUINS (15-11-6): Jake Guentzel set up Bryan Rust's first-period tally against the Kings to boost his home point streak to eight games (seven goals, six assists). The 26-year-old Rust has four goals and an assist in his last three contests after tallying just once in his first 29 games of the season. Crosby has set up three goals in his last two outings after being held off the scoresheet in four of his previous five contests while Malkin added to his team-leading assist total (25) by setting up a goal in each of his last two games.

OVERTIME

1. Anaheim owns a 9-3-2 mark against Eastern Conference foes - including 6-2-1 versus Metropolitan Division representatives - while Pittsburgh boasts a 9-2-1 record against Western Conference adversaries.

2. The Penguins have scored a short-handed goal in back-to-back games for the first time since April 2016.

3. Ducks captain C Ryan Getzlaf has recorded 18 points (five goals, 13 assists) in 16 career meetings with Pittsburgh.

PREDICTION: Penguins 3, Ducks 2