Carolina @ Pittsburgh preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 22, 2018 ) Pittsburgh 3, Carolina 0

The streaky Pittsburgh Penguins answered a scintillating 10-1-0 run with losses in five of their last eight games, but a visit from the Carolina Hurricanes might provide just the impetus to get the team back on track. The Penguins bid for their 11th win in 13 outings against the Hurricanes on Tuesday when the Metropolitan Division rivals meet at PPG Paints Arena.

Captain Sidney Crosby scored a goal for the seventh time in seven outings during Saturday's 3-2 setback to Toronto to give him 13 of his team-leading 61 points in that stretch. The two-time Hart Trophy recipient had his way with Carolina in the first encounter, collecting a goal and two assists in Pittsburgh's 3-0 win on Dec. 22. The Hurricanes saw their four-game point streak (3-0-1) halted by some very familiar faces in Sunday's 4-3 setback versus Calgary, with former teammates Derek Ryan, Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin having a hand in all four of the Flames' goals in front of ex-Carolina bench boss Bill Peters. "I don't care. I'm just trying to win," former Flames defenseman Dougie Hamilton said about scoring against his former team.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Carolinas, AT&T SportsNet-Pittsburgh

ABOUT THE HURRICANES (25-21-6): Sebastian Aho scored in his fourth straight contest to extend both his team leading total in tallies (24) and points (60) as well as his point streak to five games (four goals, four assists). Fellow Finn Teuvo Teravainen continues to pay dividends on the five-year, $27 million contract extension he signed last month by recording his fourth multi-point performance in his last nine games on Sunday. The 24-year-old Teravainen scored and set up a goal against Calgary to boost his point total to 11 (two goals, nine assists) in that stretch.

ABOUT THE PENGUINS (28-18-6): Jake Guentzel (team-leading 26 goals) scored twice against Carolina in December to give him four goals and six points in his last three contests of the series. Fellow forward Phil Kessel has one goal and three assists in that three-game stretch to give him 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) versus the Hurricanes since he joined Pittsburgh. Matt Murray turned aside all 39 shots he faced in the first meeting against Carolina to improve to 6-2-0 with a 1.73 goals-against average and .946 save percentage in his career versus the club.

OVERTIME

1. Pittsburgh C Evgeni Malkin, who has missed the last two games with a reported hand injury, skated away from the team during Monday's practice.

2. Hurricanes G Petr Mrazek owns a 2-5-1 mark with a 3.93 goals-against average and .886 save percentage in eight career encounters versus Penguins.

3. Pittsburgh has yielded two goals or fewer in 11 of the last 12 meetings with Carolina.

PREDICTION: Penguins 4, Hurricanes 2