The Penguins fail to stay hot in California, getting outclassed in a 5-1 loss against the Ducks in Anaheim on Thursday.

The Pittsburgh Penguins suffered a critical loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night, dropping further down the NHL standings.

It won’t be the best matchup when the Pittsburgh Penguins and Anaheim Ducks meet on Thursday night. Both teams are in seventh in their respective divisions, with the Penguins heading for a rebuild and the Ducks still trying to emerge from their lengthy quest to be contenders.

Welcome back to NHL Predictions. Each day, Last Word on Hockey reviews the scheduled games and offers insight and analysis to help predict who will win in head-to-head matchups.

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Bryan Rust suffered an undisclosed injury and prematurely exited a 5-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. on Thursday. Aside from a posting on one of the team’s social media accounts acknowledging the ailment,

The Anaheim Ducks hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night at Honda Center. The Ducks entered this game on a four-game winless streak and had only won one of their last seven games. The Pens were fresh off a big 5-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Monday but had only won three of their last 13 entering this game.

The Penguins, looking to rebound from their previous loss on Thursday against the Anaheim Ducks (5-1), faced a determined Seattle Kraken squad on Saturday, January 25th, at Climate Pledge Arena.

Mason McTavish had two goals for the second straight game, Jansen Harkins and Trevor Zegras scored as the Ducks beat Predators 5-2, snapping Nashville’s five-game winning streak.

It is the end of January and the Pittsburgh Penguins are still struggling with the same issues. On Jan. 20, they beat the Los Angeles Kings 5-1 and actually looked like a playoff team.

A packed Daily includes a surprise signing by the New York Rangers, and plenty of injury updates and trade rumors around the NHL.

The Pittsburgh Penguins’ decision to weld Kris Letang with Marcus Pettersson on a defensive pairing in recent weeks wasn’t necessarily rooted in a sense of familiarity between the two long-time teammates.