Penguins carry fresh momentum into matchup with Ducks

The Pittsburgh Penguins play the second half of a back-to-back Sunday, visiting the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT) on ESPN+. It's the middle stop of a three-game California trip that started in Los Angeles and wraps up Wednesday in San Jose. Read more: Penguins carry fresh momentum into matchup with Ducks

Pittsburgh arrives off a 5-2 win over the Kings Saturday that snapped a four-game losing streak. Tommy Novak scored twice in the first 5:10, and Sidney Crosby passed Marcel Dionne for sole possession of sixth on the NHL's all-time scoring list. Rookie Sergei Murashov stopped 26 of 28 shots for his first NHL win, after entering that game 0-4-1.

Anaheim is the far hotter team right now. The Ducks are 9-7-1 with 19 points, five more than Pittsburgh's 14, and they've won four straight. That stretch includes a 5-4 win at Edmonton last Thursday. Anaheim has also scored five or more goals in six straight games, a franchise best.

Related: Sidney Crosby passes Marcel Dionne as Penguins snap four-game skid with 5-2 win over Kings

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Neither team has named a starter. Pittsburgh's Arturs Silovs carries a 5-5-1 record with a 3.26 goals-against average and an .876 save percentage. Murashov is 1-4-1 with a 3.52 GAA and an .880 save percentage since Saturday's win.

Anaheim has rotated Lukas Dostal (4-4-1, 3.76 GAA, .866 save percentage) and Ville Husso (2-3-0, 3.55 GAA, .868). But it's Laurent Brossoit who has been unbeaten in net, 3-0-0 with a 3.68 GAA since his recall from San Diego.

Both teams are also working around injuries. Pittsburgh winger Bryan Rust (lower body) won't return until Dec. 5, and Elmer Soderblom (upper body) is out until at least Nov. 14. Defensemen Trevor van Riemsdyk and Ryan Graves are also on injured reserve.

Anaheim winger Troy Terry, recovering from hip surgery, carries the same Nov. 8 target return as van Riemsdyk, though the Ducks haven't confirmed either player for Sunday's lineup.

Related: Penguins look to snap skid against surging Kings

Carlsson and Gauthier lead attack

Much of Anaheim's scoring has come from its young core. Daily Faceoff named Leo Carlsson and Cutter Gauthier its duo of the weekend after Gauthier's hat trick and Carlsson's three assists in a 6-3 win over Ottawa.

DraftKings lists Anaheim as the moneyline favorite at -120, with Pittsburgh at +100, according to ESPN's odds page. The puck line has the Ducks at -1.5 (+195) and the Penguins at +1.5 (-238). The total sits at 6.5, with the over priced at -148.

The Penguins close out the trip Wednesday in San Jose.

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