Pittsburgh @ Minnesota preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 20, 2018 ) Minnesota 1, Pittsburgh 2

The Pittsburgh Penguins bid to extend their season-high winning streak to six games by completing a sweep of the Minnesota Wild on Monday. The Penguins have regained their footing after sliding into the Eastern Conference basement, following a tumultuous 1-7-2 stretch by recording at least one point in 16 of their last 20 games (13-4-3).

Jake Guentzel, who played his high school hockey at Hill Murray in Maplewood (Minn.), set up a pair of goals by Bryan Rust in Pittsburgh's 2-1 victory versus Minnesota on Dec. 20 and also tallied in Saturday's 6-1 romp at St. Louis. Captain Sidney Crosby, who is slated to play in his 900th NHL game on Monday, scored just 48 seconds in the first period versus the Blues and set up two other tallies to give him 27 (nine goals, 18 assists) of his team-leading 46 points in the last 19 contests. While the two-time Hart Trophy winner has tamed the Wild (five goals, 14 assists in 16 games) over his career, Zach Parise (16, 23 in 51) has done his fair share of damage against the Penguins. The 34-year-old Parise notched a pair of assists on Saturday as Minnesota snapped its season-high five-game skid (0-4-1) with a 3-1 win at Winnipeg.

TV: 6 p.m. ET, Sportsnet, AT&T SportsNet-Pittsburgh, FS North, FS Wisconsin (Minnesota)

ABOUT THE PENGUINS (20-12-6): Pittsburgh' special teams have been making their presence felt of late, as the club scored on its first four power-play opportunities against the Blues to improve to 6-for-7 in the last two games, while the penalty kill is a perfect 14-for-14 over the last five. Speaking of positive statistics, Matt Murray is sporting a 5-0-0 record, 1.38 goals-against average and .959 save percentage since returning from a lower-body injury on Dec. 15. The two-time Stanley Cup-winning goaltender has turned aside 52-of-55 shots en route to splitting a pair of decisions versus the Wild.

ABOUT THE WILD (18-16-3): Charlie Coyle, who scored against the Jets on Saturday, set up Jordan Greenway's goal in Minnesota's first encounter with Pittsburgh. Devan Dubnyk turned aside 26 shots against Winnipeg to post his first victory since a 5-1 triumph over Florida on Dec. 13. The 32-year-old made 35 saves in the earlier loss to the Penguins and owns a 2.85 GAA and .915 save percentage in 11 career meetings.

OVERTIME

1. Minnesota C Mikael Granlund has collected 12 of his club-best 25 assists this month.

2. The Penguins are 4-6-1 all-time on the road against the Wild.

3. Parise (team-leading 16 goals) is one tally shy of 350 for his career.

PREDICTION: Penguins 4, Wild 2