BLOG: Zajac v Crosby

On deck for the Devils is a three-game series against the Pittsburgh Penguins with the first two taking place at
Prudential Center
on Thursday and Saturday and the finale in Pittsburgh on Sunday.
It will be the first meeting(s) this season between the two longstanding divisional rivals. And it will feature a micro matchup between centers Travis Zajac and Sidney Crosby.
Zajac's line, consisting of the 35-year-old veteran and his two 22-year-old rookies Janne Kuokkanen and Yegor Sharangovich, is expected to get the bulk of the workload against Crosby, Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust.
Being at home for the next two games, the Devils will get the final line change. Devils head coach Lindy Ruff expects to get his matchup "80 percent of the time."
The challenge is obvious. Crosby is a generational talent and one of the greatest to ever play the game. He's a three-time Stanley Cup champion, two-time playoff MVP, two-time NHL MVP, two-time NHL scoring champion and two-time NHL goal-scoring champion.
But it's a challenge that is nothing new for Zajac, who has gone head-to-head against Crosby for over a decade now. And it's a matchup that Ruff desires.
"(There is some comfort) knowing that Travis is there and that Travis has played against (Crosby) a lot (in his career)," Ruff noted, "but we still know that he's a good enough player to create some chances on his own. He's one of the strongest players from the top of the circle down in the sense of hanging onto pucks and being able to make plays and score in-tight goals."
But the duty won't fall squarely on the shoulders of Zajac, but also Kuokkanen and Sharangovich.
"It'll be a really good challenge for Janne and 'Shar,'" Ruff said. "It'll be a really good test for that line."
Perhaps it will more than just a test, but also an aspirational measurement.
"But (Crosby is someone) they can watch and say 'I've got to get my game close to this guy's game,'" Ruff said.
Though all things considered, it may actually be more of a test for Crosby's line to slow down the Kuokkanen-Zajac-Sharangovich triumvirate. After all, they've combined for 16 points (6G-10A) in the last five games. And a huge factor in that success has been Zajac's success in the circle. More puck possession always equates to less defending.
"Lately, (Zajac has) been really good in the faceoff dot, so we get a lot more possession," Ruff said. "They've been able to do a lot with that possession."