Penguins hope to keep hot streak going against struggling Flames
The Pittsburgh Penguins will look to continue their hot streak when they play host to the struggling Calgary Flames on Saturday.
Thanks to a 4-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Thursday, the Penguins are riding a six-game winning spree that has vaulted them back into a playoff position.
Pittsburgh -- which is looking to claim a seven-game winning streak for the first time since December 2022 -- has cobbled together a perfect record and outscored its opponents by a 29-13 margin since returning from the holiday break.
"I feel like right when we came back from the break, we just got back to work," said goaltender Stuart Skinner, who has surrendered one goal in each of his last three outings. "I feel like our details in here are really solid, and again, just like our commitment to those details. So, yeah, ever since we got back, I feel like we've been rolling pretty good. It's our job to keep that consistency going."
The Penguins received a huge boost against the Devils with the return of veteran center Evgeni Malkin, who scored after missing 15 games due to an upper-body injury.
"Probably, first period, I felt a little bit nervous. I can't breathe, you know?" Malkin said. "But after ... I played so much better. And I think we all played better."
Heading into Saturday's clash, Sidney Crosby is riding an eight-game point streak in which he has collected five goals and nine assists. Defenseman Erik Karlsson has netted 14 points (three goals, 11 assists) in a nine-game home-ice streak.
The Flames arrive on a different track. Calgary, which sits 30th overall in the 32-team league, is on a four-game losing skid and dropped the first two outings in a five-game road swing.
Calgary arrives in Pittsburgh after suffering a pair of 4-1 losses to the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday and the Boston Bruins on Thursday. The Flames have only scored once in three consecutive games.
"The boys battled," said goaltender Dustin Wolf, who started his eighth consecutive game. "Just couldn't find a way to get a couple more. ... We'll be better on Saturday."
The Flames had actually pulled back to the .500 mark before the calendar flipped to 2026, but they have been outscored 17-6 in this four-game dip.
Calgary has the league's worst power play at 13.9%, is tied with the New Jersey Devils for the second-worst goals-per-game (2.55) and has a cellar-dwelling 6-15-2 road record.
The list of players who are failing to contribute enough offensively during these struggles is lengthy.
"There are certain guys I'd like to see more from," coach Ryan Huska said. "Sometimes you can look at the stat sheet and be able to tell who you're looking for more out of."
There was no word Friday about the status of forward Blake Coleman, who left the Boston game early in the third period. Coleman appeared to land on his right shoulder when he and Bruins defenseman Mason Lohrei wrestled to the ice late in the first period.
"I think he's probably just a little bit sore and not anything that we wanted to push at that time," Huska said after the game.