The Pittsburgh Penguins talk a lot about turning the page from one game to the next

The Pittsburgh Penguins talk a lot about turning the page from one game to the next Mark Giordano Jersey , but they also have had several outings that sting enough to linger.They are at the latter point going into a game Friday against Boston (17-10-4).Pittsburgh (13-11-6) had points in four straight games before falling 6-3 on Wednesday at Chicago, which entered the game last in the NHL with nine wins and riding an eight-game losing streak, and played the night before.Article continues below ...“To not have the fire or whatever, the jump, I don’t know if there’s an excuse for that,” Penguins forward Matt Cullen said after returning for that game from a lower-body injury.Pittsburgh had some feel-good moments in the game, erasing an early two-goal deficit and getting a hat trick from Bryan Rust, who busted a 20-game goal drought.But for what is far from the first time this season, the Penguins find themselves fighting the frustration of some deficiencies that keep cropping up — defensive lapses, critical penalties Youth Matthew Tkachuk Jersey , poor puck management and a lack of an offensive response at key times.It’s not all of those things all the time, but it’s enough of them enough of the time to be concerning to them.“We’re trying to build some traction here,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “We’ve played a lot of good hockey over the last three or four weeks. We’re trying to string some wins together and points together and (produce) momentum. When you have a night like (Wednesday), it sets you back.“I thought we gave up more odd-man rushes than we did in the last three or four weeks.”Pittsburgh goaltender Matt Murray (lower body) came off injured reserve Wednesday and dressed as the backup to Casey DeSmith. It’s not clear who will start against the Bruins.Boston has won three straight.Bruins center Ryan Donato has never faced Pittsburgh, and his impression of the club that has won three Stanley Cups since 2009 remains strong.“It’s one of those talented NHL teams that capitalize on every mistake,” Donato said. “I look up and down their lineup and they have a lot of superstars, so I think for us we’ve got to come in with a mentality of being really hungry and prepared to play some defense, but also not make any mistakes.”Boston is moving toward being healthier.While winger Jake DeBrusk has gone into concussion protocol and will sit out Friday, winger David Backes has had no lingering effects from being cut in the face Tuesday and is expected to play Friday.Backes took a skate to the face during a 4-3 win over Arizona. He returned to the game after receiving stitches.“No worse for wear,” Backes said Thursday. “It could have been a lot worse looking at the video and knowing that there’s some sharp apparatus right by my moneymaker Michael Frolik Jersey , my face.”Center Sean Kuraly did not practice after having a minor procedure on his broken nose, the result of a fight Sunday against Ottawa’s Ben Harpur. Coach Bruce Cassidy said Kuraly was questionable to probable to face Pittsburgh and might need to add some extra facial protection.Meanwhile, center Patrice Bergeron (rib, sternoclavicular injury) and defenseman Zdeno Chara (left MCL injury) skated before practice, and defenseman Kevan Miller (throat) practiced in a limited capacity.“He’s practicing in a non-contact jersey, so he’s able to do that, so that’s good,” Cassidy said of Miller. “He’ll obviously have to get cleared for contact.” The New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins each lug a three-game losing streak into their Metropolitan Division matchup Monday at PPG Paints Arena, but the demeanor of each club is vastly different.The Devils (5-5-1) felt as if they turned a corner in a good way Saturday despite a 3-0 loss to the New York Islanders, while Pittsburgh (6-3-3) was left reeling after a 5-0 loss the same night against Toronto.New Jersey coach John Hynes talked about there being steps to getting out of a funk Authentic Mikael Backlund Jersey , and he thinks his team has taken a big one.Article continues below ...“Lots of times when you come out of it your play has to be better first,” he said. “Lots of times you don’t come out of these with a win; you come out of it by playing better and playing better and playing better.“If we can build on our work ethic and how we played (Saturday), then we’re going to put ourselves in situations to win games.”Before the Islanders game, the Devils lost two games by a combined 12-6. New Jersey goaltender Keith Kinkaid noticed a difference Saturday, describing that game as “a little setback” when the team “ran into a hot goalie.”“There’s plenty of season left,” Kinkaid said. “We’re just going through a little spell. Everything’s a learning curve. We have a young team. We’ve just got to keep sticking with it.”Winger Taylor Hall, the defending Hart Trophy winner, thought the Devils were more competitive and better defensively.“It seems like for the most part we have a grasp for how we need to play in our own end right now,” Hall said. “Comparing our game (Saturday) to the last couple, there was a lot of improvement in a lot of areas. It’s a good building-block game for how we need to play going forward.”The Penguins Mike Smith Jersey , meanwhile, spent Sunday trying to simply remind themselves of what those building blocks are.“We’ve got to try to reinforce the details and the work ethic associated with winning, and that was part of the practice (Sunday), was trying to make sure that we get back to basics and that we focus on the process and the details associated with winning — and with our team it starts with skating,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said.The Penguins were riding high after a 4-0 road trip through Canada, but the three-game losing streak (0-2-1) has immediately followed.“Right now we’re down, and we have to … find ourselves a little bit,” winger Patric Hornqvist said.After being outskated and outworked Saturday by the Maple Leafs, there was plenty of soul-searching.Defenseman Kris Letang said the Penguins were “flat” and that “there was no emotion.”Sullivan, rarely critical of his club Artemi Panarin Jersey , said the past week has taken a toll.“This league has a funny way of humbling you. Right now I think we’ve been humbled,” he said.Pittsburgh winger Matt Cullen, the oldest player in the NHL, has been around plenty long enough to know that even just a month into the season, a lull without a correction can lead to things going sideways.“We have to dig down and find a way to turn things around,” he said. “I don’t have any question that we will, but we don’t have any time to waste.”