Red Wings @ Penguins

Who will WIN this matchup?

Detroit Red Wings (15-17-6)

@ Pittsburgh Penguins (18-12-6)

Starting Goalies:

Jimmy Howard (DET): Likely

Matt Murray (PIT): Confirmed

Current odds:

Detroit Red Wings: (+220)

Pittsburgh Penguins: (-260)

• The Pittsburgh Penguins welcomed a bit of time off during the Christmas break after finishing a frenzied six-game stretch in nine days with a 5-1-0 mark. Presumably refreshed, the Penguins bid to regain their momentum and extend their winning streak to four games on Thursday when they host the Detroit Red Wings at PPG Paints Arena. Captain Sidney Crosby set up all three of his team’s goals in Saturday’s 3-0 triumph over Carolina to push his club-leading point total to 41 with nine in his past five games. The line of Crosby, Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust pumped in seven points (two goals, five assists) in that contest, with Guentzel’s two tallies boosting his point total to five (two goals, three assists) in his last three games.

• Detroit dropped six of seven (1-4-2) to plummet into 12th place in the Eastern Conference, with the latest setback coming after it allowed the game-tying goal with 7.6 seconds in regulation in Sunday’s 5-4 overtime loss in Toronto. Dylan Larkin (club-best 36 points) carries an 11-game point streak (five goals, nine assists) into Pittsburgh, against which he scored a goal in the Red Wings’ 4-1 triumph on New Year’s Eve and added two assists in a 5-2 win on March 27.

• Gustav Nyquist has excelled in his role as a facilitator on offense with a team-best 22 assists, but the 29-year-old Swede showed he can find the net by scoring twice against the Penguins on Dec. 31. Detroit would be well served to locate its 20th-ranked power play, as the club went 0-for-7 with the man advantage in the last two games. “The thing about the power play is you have to focus on whether or not you’re getting opportunities, because even the best power plays in the world fail 70 percent of the time,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “Certainly if you score, you put yourself in a way better position to win the hockey game, and we understand that.”

• While Crosby is producing offensively, fellow superstars Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel have combined for one even strength goal and a minus-4 rating in the last six games. Rust has cushioned that blow with an NHL-best eight tallies since Dec. 12 after mustering just one in his first 29 contests of the season. “We’re thrilled for him,” coach Mike Sullivan said of the 26-year-old Michigan native. “Rusty does so many things beyond the numbers. Certainly when he helps us offensively, it’s a boost for our team. His speed is evident. He’s confident. We’re thrilled that it’s going in the net for him.”

• Detroit D Trevor Daley, who played in his 1,000th career NHL game on Sunday, had two assists in three encounters versus his former team last season.

• Pittsburgh D Kris Letang has dented the scoresheet in seven of his last eight games versus the Red Wings, totaling 10 points (five goals, five assists).

• Detroit C Andreas Athanasiou has failed to score a goal in December after netting seven in 10 games last month.