One day after teammate Sidney Crosby reached a milestone, Evgeni Malkin vies for one of his own when the Pittsburgh Penguins visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday in a battle for second place in the Metropolitan Division. Crosby hit the 1,000-point plateau in Thursday's overtime win over against Winnipeg and Malkin looks to notch his 500th career assist versus Columbus.

The league-worst Colorado Avalanche attempt to halt a five-game overall losing streak and salvage the finale of their five-game road trip Friday when they visit the well-rested Carolina Hurricanes. Colorado, which has an abysmal minus-77 goal differential, has scored a total of six goals during its slide and was blanked 2-0 in Buffalo on Thursday.

The Florida Panthers hoped to be a more attacking, offensive team when Tom Rowe took over as interim coach in late November, replacing Gerard Gallant, and it appears they are beginning to find their way. The Panthers scored 13 goals in the first two contests of a critical road trip that continues with a game against the Anaheim Ducks on Friday night.