Pittsburgh has lost eight of 10 since the holiday break and begins a 15-day road swing Friday night in Buffalo

It's no secret that the Pittsburgh Penguins are riding the struggle bus to Buffalo on Friday. 

The Penguins - sitting at 18-20-8 - will look to snap a three-game losing streak when they take on the Buffalo Sabres, who are the worst team in the Eastern Conference at 17-22-5. Just a few weeks ago, they were in the midst of a disastrous 13-game losing streak. However, in the last 10 games, they are 6-3-1 - and they sit just five points behind the Penguins.

Pittsburgh has a grueling seven-game road trip - spanning 15 days - that begins Friday when they take on the Sabres. They are now as many points out of a wild card spot as they are from the basement of the conference.

When asked how he looks at a seven game road trip - especially given the standings - head coach Mike Sullivan responded frankly.

"One at a time," Sullivan said. "There's no other way to look at it. Listen, we're well-aware of where we're at here. We've got to stay in the hunt. So, every game's important, and by nature of every game checking off the calendar, that next game takes on a heightened level of importance. So, we're going to stay in the moment, we're going to look at the game right in front of us and keep our head down... just focus on that one game."

The reality is that the Penguins - despite losing eight of their 10 games since the holiday break - are in most of the games that they're losing. Seven of their eight losses have been one-goal games in the third period, and they know they have to dig in to try and get on the other side of those tight games.

"That's the frustrating part, right?" forward Anthony Beauvillier said. "We've been in most of those games and couldn't get many points out of it. We've just got to be a little bit more predictable to one another, be on the same page a little bit more in certain areas of our game... and I think that will help us. I know there's a lot of trust in each other and in this group that we have that we can turn this around, but sometimes, it's just a matter of executing plays and stuff like that."

He continued: "I think we have a really strong character room. Really good leaders, obviously. I think we have a lot of camaraderie. We're a tight group. We believe in each other, we believe that we can have a run here, and that's what we're going to try to do."

Sullivan also mentioned the positive effect a long road trip can have on a group of players and their chemistry - especially since they spend so much time together. 

"I think there's value in when you are on the road and the players get an opportunity to be around one another, both at the rink, but - maybe - even more importantly, away from the rink," Sullivan said. "They go to dinner together, they spend a lot of time together, it gives us an opportunity to get to know one another even more. And that's never a bad thing. I think teams that build chemistry... that chemistry starts off the ice and it carries to the ice. And, sometimes, an extended road trip like this certainly facilitates that."

Pittsburgh will start goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic in goal just two days after waiving Tristan Jarry. Rookie goaltender Joel Blomqvist has joined the team, but Sullivan stressed the importance of Blomqvist getting a practice in before seeing game action.

"Joel will play games for us," he said.

Here is the rest of the starting lineup for Friday's tilt. Kris Letang is out with an illness:

In Pittsburgh's last contest against Buffalo on Oct. 16 was a wild 6-5 overtime victory. In that contest, Evgeni Malkin registered his 500th career goal and became just the fourth active player to reach the milestone.