from Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review,

Games Tuesday and Wednesday at the Flyers and against the Blackhawks present the Penguins an opportunity to take a few days off feeling good about themselves, the best-case scenario a 5-3-1 record in January entering the break.

Or the Penguins could stew for four days and reconvene for practice following two losses that dropped them into fourth place in the Metropolitan Division with a 3-5-1 record in January and losses in seven of eight against division opponents.

“We have to get our game back and get back in sync,” coach Mike Johnston said. “That's the real key thing for me right now.”

That the Penguins need to bounce back from losses to the Islanders and Rangers, one more wretched than the next, is the easy part.

How they do it gets a little more complex.

The Penguins went winless in back-to-back games twice over the first 10 weeks of the season. It's happened three times — including a seasonlong four games without a win Dec. 22-29 — since.

“You can't get into a spot where you lose a couple games in a row,” Johnston said. “We've lost two. Now, we have to respond.”

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