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Penguins and Buffalo Sabres Authentic Joe Pavelski Jersey , who meet Monday at PPG Paints Arena, seem to have switched identities this season.The Penguins, winners of the Stanley Cup two of the past three seasons, are 7-8-3, last in the Eastern Conference and mired in a 1-7-1 funk.The Sabres, doormats for several years, are 12-6-2 and have won five straight.Article continues below ...The teams’ results in their most recent game on Saturday underscore the differences. Pittsburgh scored first but gave up five unanswered goals in a 6-4 loss at Ottawa. Buffalo overcame a two-goal deficit for a 3-2 win at Minnesota, the second road victory in as many nights.“It goes to show we have a different group, a different mindset and a different attitude Joe Thornton Jersey ,” said Buffalo winger Jason Pominville, who scored the winner against the Wild with 90 seconds left and also had an assist.The Sabres last won five in a row March 19-27, 2012. This is the first time since 2009-10 they have at least 26 points through 20 games.“I give a lot of credit to our guys,” Buffalo coach Phil Housley said. “It just showed the character of this team, the fight and the battle.”Only Tampa Bay and Toronto have more points in the Eastern Conference than Buffalo.Pittsburgh, conversely, has a way to go to climb back above the playoff cutoff line. The club might have a way to go just to get a couple wins.“We’re in a deep hole, and we have to figure it out,” Penguins defenseman Kris Letang said. “We can’t be sorry for ourselves. … We have all the skill in the world Joonas Donskoi Jersey , but right now it’s not working.”No. 1 goaltender Matt Murray has been pulled in three of his past six starts, including Saturday, and his confidence is waning, according to coach Mike Sullivan.“I’m sure it is,” Sullivan said. “He’s a human being. He’s a proud guy, and he wants to do well. Sometimes when you get in these types of circumstances, you can try a little too hard and it gets in the way of your instinctual play. There’s always that fine line of trying but making sure you don’t try too hard because that can be counterproductive.”Pittsburgh team captain Sidney Crosby has missed the past two games because of an upper-body injury. He has been skating on his own and is considered day-to-day, but Pittsburgh was off Sunday and it is unknown whether he might be available Monday.Coming back home isn’t necessarily a comfort zone for the Penguins, who are 3-5-1 at PPG Paints Arena.“As a group Justin Braun Jersey Kids , we’ve just got to find a way,” said winger Matt Cullen, the oldest player in the NHL at 42, who scored one of three third-period goals Saturday as the Penguins made a push that fell short against the Senators.“I think we’re better than the way we’re playing,” Cullen said. “The last period showed some fight, but from the drop of the puck we need to have more urgency in our game.“Time goes pretty quick. We find ourselves at Thanksgiving here pretty soon. We’ve got to get to our game and do it more consistently.“These are important points for us. We can’t keep missing our opportunities.” For their return to the ice Thursday night after a four-day Christmas break, the Nashville Predators got a pair of reinforcements. What they didn’t get was a much-needed win.Despite outshooting Dallas 49-30, including a total of nine shots on net from Viktor Arvidsson and P.K. Subban in their return after absences of a month-and-a-half each, Nashville couldn’t get a puck past Anton Khudobin. It cost them a 2-0 defeat Youth Kevin Labanc Jersey , their fifth straight loss.Article continues below ...The Predators hope to snap their longest skid since January of 2016 when they host the New York Rangers Saturday night at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.With a road-heavy schedule awaiting it in January, Nashville could use these two points. To hear coach Peter Laviolette talk after Thursday night’s game, success might not be very far away, even though his team again failed to get the result.“We were working to create,” Laviolette said. “It wasn’t a lack of effort or opportunity. I think when you put that many pucks on net, you’re looking to do the right things. We’ll go back and nit-pick it. We’ll try to find some times we could have been better. It’s frustrating.”In spite of the loss, the Predators (22-15-2) remain four points behind Winnipeg for first place in the Central Division and have four meetings left with the Jets, including an unusual two-game home series with them January 15 and 17. So there’s still plenty of time to play catchup.Subban, whose first game back from an upper-body injury suffered in mid-November offered three shots but a minus two rating Martin Jones Jersey , said Nashville can build on its ability to marry puck possession with shots on net in Thursday night’s defeat.“We put nearly 50 shots on net and not a lot of teams can do that,” he said. “We did some things well. I think the two goals were tough ones and we would like to have them back. We had a lot of chances but just couldn’t bury them.While the Predators search for consistency and points, New York (15-14-7) has managed to pick up a point in seven of its last nine games. But the Rangers have just two wins to show for the stretch following a4-3 overtime loss Thursday night in Madison Square Garden to Columbus.Chris Kreider’s goal at 12:06 of the third period gave New York a late edge, but the Blue Jackets equalized via Zach Werenski at 17:40 and then skated off 31 seconds into overtime on Pierre-Luc Dubois’ 14th marker of the year.“We can’t let this get in the way of moving on and getting ready for Nashville,” said first-year coach David Quinn. “There were situations where we had a chance to get the puck out and didn’t do what we were supposed to. It’s about learning how to win.”The Rangers have struggled across the board, ranking 25th in goals (100) and 23rd in goals against (117). Their penalty kill hasn’t helped, ranking 26th.The teams met on October 4 in their season opener, with the Predators earning a 3-2 win.