Mikeal Backlund is in the top-25% of the league in speed bursts over 32km/hr with 76. He’s in the top-5% in 29-32km/hr speed bursts with a whopping 459. But high-end speed? He has only one instance of going above 35km/hr. Well below league average. #Flames #NHLEdge pic.twitter.com/ingffsTIbf

Racks up pair of assists

Penguins: Pittsburgh never led and lost for the fifth time in seven games. The Penguins began the game with a flurry of shots, but couldn't break through against Gibson. The Ducks took control and got behind Pittsburgh's defense multiple times to keep pressure on Nedeljkovic.

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,

ANAHEIM -- Mason McTavish and Alex Killorn each scored two goals for the Anaheim Ducks in a 5-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Honda Center on Thursday. Frank Vatrano also scored, and Troy Terry and Jacob Trouba each had two assists for the Ducks (19-23-6), who had lost four straight (0-3-1). John Gibson made 31 saves.

Pittsburgh City Council has advanced two pieces of legislation meant to prevent referendums like the one proposed by Not On Our Dime, which is attempting to force the city to divest from Israel and companies that do business with the Jewish state.

The Rangers look to rebound from a disappointing loss to the Avalanche. After facing Martin Necas and Jack Drury with their new team Sunday, New York gets to take on Mikko Rantanen on his. The Blueshirts are on the midst of a critical and rough seven game stretch leading into the 4 Nations Faceoff with games against Boston (home and away),

After a day off on Sunday which helped this writer avoid another rainy drive to Orange County, the Ducks were back on the ice for a Monday practice. They’ll fly to The Emerald City shortly ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Seattle Kraken.

The Washington Capitals signed goalie Logan Thompson to a six-year extension. Follow this tracker for the latest NHL news.

McTavish is capable of more, but they’ve got to put him in the best position to have success. The Ducks do mete out ice time among their forwards more evenly than other teams and while McTavish is averaging 16:24, that ranks seventh.

The New York Rangers face big decisions on several of their defensemen both before and after the March 7 NHL trade deadline.

The Ducks take on the Nashville Predators in the final game of a three-game homestand. They are coming off a 5-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday. The Predators are coming off a 6-5 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Thursday.