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The Ducks will get back to work tonight in search of a bounce-back win, hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins at Honda Center.

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Anaheim continues its three-game homestand after a second consecutive loss to the defending champion Panthers, a 5-2 defeat Tuesday in the return from a season-long road trip. The Ducks trailed by just one after an eventful two periods, but would see the scoring chances dwindle late against a stingy, veteran Florida defense.

"The first period, we had some jump and they got some quick goals," Cronin said. "I think [Mason McTavish’s] goal got us back into it. I thought the second period was great. We had the puck most of the period, felt there was a lot of momentum going into the third period. I felt really confident. We were skating well in the second and generated some quality chances.

"But I think the first goal...It was an odd play and I think that was kind of like a punch in the mouth and they tack on the other one three minutes later. We have got to find a way to keep battling. I thought there was a little bit of a lull there. We just got to battle, we got to keep playing, you got to keep battling, it doesn’t matter what the score is. And that was it. They got two quick goals and I think that just took some steam out of us."

Mason McTavish scores off the rush

The loss dropped 18-23-6 on the season and 1-5-2 in its last eight games, a frustrating turn for a team that felt it was playing its best hockey at the turn of the New Year.

"As far as the bench mark games go, we have had a lot of them," Cronin said. "Going back to the Winnipegs, the Edmontons, the Colorados, the (New) Jersey games. We have been in these games and I thought in Florida we played well. That game could have gone either way, they had two goals and we had breakaways [where] we didn’t score and didn’t capitalize. I mean we are right there and we got to bounce back quickly and get ready for Pittsburgh."

Anaheim did welcome forward Trevor Zegras back to the lineup on Tuesday after the 23-year-old forward missed six weeks with a torn meniscus. Zegras skated on left wing alongside Leo Carlsson and Alex Killorn, and led the team with four shots on net.

"I felt good," Zegras said. "Surprisingly a lot better than I thought just in terms of pace of the game and how my body felt. I think I give a lot of credit to the training staff and the guys behind the scenes that helped me get to that point because it felt pretty seamless."

The Ducks hope Zegras' return will help spark a struggling offense that's scored just 12 goals during that eight-game skid. Anaheim remains undefeated in regulation this season when scoring at least three goals, but has done so in only 19 of the club's 47 games.

"I thought we had a lot of zone time," Zegras said of Tuesday's game. "Had them in their end for good periods of time and and it's tough when you don't capitalize."

The Ducks now welcome a Pittsburgh squad midway through its own season-long road trip, a seven-game trek still headed for Seattle, San Jose and Utah. The Pens downed the Kings on Monday in convincing fashion, jumping out to an early two-goal lead and cruising to a 5-1 victory.

"I thought we took it to them the entire night,” goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic told NHL.com's Dan Greenspan postgame. “We played on top of them... We weren't giving them any offense, which goes a long way in being able to maintain momentum, because once you start turning the puck over and kind of giving them easy offense, it's easy for them to start getting confidence and building some momentum.”

The Pens also earned an OT victory in the season's first meeting with the Ducks, a 2-1 final back in October at PPG Paints Arena. Sidney Crosby scored the game-winning goal that night, capitalizing on an Anaheim turnover in the defensive zone.

Pittsburgh (20-21-8, 48 points) sits seventh in the Metropolitan Division, four points back of a Wild Card position.