At the Rink: Penguins at Devils

Monday, 12.29.2014 / 1:15 PM | NHL.com Staff

The New Jersey Devils had new faces behind the bench in their previous game. They will have one in the lineup Monday.

Forwards Stefan Matteau and Joe Whitney were recalled from Albany of the American Hockey League. One of them will make his season debut against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Prudential Center, general manager Lou Lamoriello said.

Matteau and Whitney joined forwards Tim Sestito and Jordin Tootoo on the fourth line at the morning skate.

"Whitney's leading our [AHL] team in scoring," Lamoriello said. "He's got almost a point a game and he's done just about everything. He deserves the opportunity. Stef is a size and strength forward who brings a different dimension. They both have been playing well, so that's the reason."

Matteau, 20, was the 29th pick in the 2012 NHL Draft. He began the 2012-13 season with the Devils and had one goal and two assists in 17 games before being returned to his junior team. He had 13 goals and 26 points last season for Albany.

Whitney, 26, made his NHL debut for the Devils on Jan. 24, 2014 against the Washington Capitals, playing eight minutes. He was Albany's leading scorer last season with 53 points (22 goals) and leads them this season with 28 points (11 goals) in 30 games.

New Jersey lost 3-1 to the New York Rangers on Saturday in the first game with Lamoriello and new coaches Adam Oates and Scott Stevens behind the bench. The Devils (12-18-7) are 1-5-3 in their past nine games and 3-9-5 in their past 17. Lamoriello is overseeing the Devils after firing coach Peter DeBoer on Friday, and will eventually cede control of the bench to Oates, who is running the offense, and Stevens, who controls the defense.

The Penguins (22-8-5) announced a transaction Monday, recalling defenseman Brian Dumoulin from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL. Dumoulin, 23, has one goal in seven games this season with the Penguins. He had one assist in six games last season.

Defenseman Kris Letang missed practice Sunday after blocking a shot in a 3-0 loss to the Washington Capitals on Saturday, but took part in the morning skate and will play Monday, the Penguins said.

Pittsburgh is trying to snap out of an 0-2-1 skid after a 22-6-4 start. The Penguins lead the Metropolitan Division by two points over the New York Islanders.

Here are the projected lineups:

PENGUINS

Chris KunitzSidney CrosbyEvgeni Malkin

Dominik UherBrandon SutterBryan Rust

Nick SpalingMarcel GocJayson Megna

Bobby FarnhamAndrew EbbettRob Klinkhammer

Rob ScuderiKris Letang

Derrick PouliotSimon Despres

Brian DumoulinRobert Bortuzzo

Marc-Andre Fleury

Jeff Zatkoff

Scratched: Scott Harrington

Injured: Steve Downie (mumps), Thomas Greiss (mumps), Blake Comeau (upper body), Christian Ehrhoff (lower body), Paul Martin (undisclosed), Craig Adams (undisclosed), Pascal Dupuis (blood clot), Patric Hornqvist (lower body), Olli Maatta (upper body), Scott Wilson (leg), Zach Sill (upper body), Beau Bennett (lower body)

DEVILS

Adam Henrique - Scott Gomez - Jaromir Jagr

Mike Cammalleri - Travis Zajac - Dainius Zubrus

Tuomo Ruutu - Stephen Gionta - Steve Bernier

Stefan Matteau/Joe Whitney - Tim Sestito - Jordin Tootoo

Andy Greene - Peter Harrold

Jon Merrill - Marek Zidlicky

Eric Gelinas - Adam Larsson

Cory Schneider

Keith Kinkaid

Scratched: Stefan Matteau/Joe Whitney, Seth Helgeson

Injured: Bryce Salvador (lower body), Damon Severson (left ankle), Ryane Clowe (head), Patrik Elias (mumps), Martin Havlat (illness), Jacob Josefson (illness), Michael Ryder (mumps)

Status report: Bennett was first on the ice for the morning skate Monday but said he isn't playing. His last game was Nov. 24. Hornqvist is likely to miss several weeks with his injury, coach Mike Johnston said Sunday. … Josefson, who returned to the lineup against the Rangers after missing three games with a groin injury, didn't practice Sunday because of an illness. Lamoriello told Northjersey.com it doesn't appear to be the mumps, which has sidelined several players in the organization in the past month. Elias and Ryder remain out. Elias skated Monday along with Havlat. Ryder was placed on injured reserve.

Who's hot: Pittsburgh's penalty kill has been successful on its past 17 attempts and is tied for third in the NHL this month with a 91.7 percent success rate. The Penguins PK has an 88.5 percent success rate on the road this season. … Schneider hasn't won in his past six starts, but he stopped 57 of 60 shots (.950 save percentage) in his past two games against the Carolina Hurricanes and Rangers.

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