GAME STORY: Penguins 7, Devils 6

PITTSBURGH, Pa. -The Pittsburgh Penguins skated out to a 6-0 lead through 40 minutes and looked like they would cruise to an easy victory.
However, a spirited push back by the Devils in the third period with six goals somehow made this contest a nail-biter with 40.3 seconds left in regulation.
But alas, in the end, it was too little, too late for the Devils. The Penguins would hold on against an injury-depleted New Jersey lineup to escape with a 7-6 victory Tuesday night at PPG Paints Arena.

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WHAT'S NEXT
The Devils continue their four-game road trip, starting with two more in Pittsburgh. Game 2 is Thursday night. You can watch on MSG+ 2 and listen on the Devils Hockey Network,
including right here at NewJerseyDevils.com.
Game time is 7:08 PM ET.
The Penguins received tallies from Mike Matheson, Bryan Rust, Brian Dumoulin, Jeff Carter, Teddy Blueger and Evan Rodrigues to take a 6-0 lead, and added a Sidney Crosby tally late in the third period.
The Devils rebounded on six third-period tallies from Nico Hischier, Yegor Sharangovich, Nathan Bastian, Jack Hughes, Nolan Foote's first-career NHL goal and Andreas Johnsson.
While the comeback was noble, the Devils take no solace in making it close. And know that they can't fall behind 6-0 at the start of game and expect to be successful.
"It's embarrassing to be losing 6-0 in the NHL," Hughes said. "It's virtually impossible to win a game when you give up seven goals. It was a good third period obviously, but we can't give up seven goals.
"We can't dig ourselves into a hole like that and expect to win."
Even though the Devils made this a competitive game late, head coach Lindy Ruff wants to get more from his goaltenders - which featured Scott Wedgewood (four goals against) and Aaron Dell (three).
"To start off we need better goaltending. Flat-out we need better goaltending," he said. "We've made some mistakes. Every team makes mistakes. A few of the goals that went in, those are saves we need. We need some of those to be saves.
"At the end of the day, I need my guys between the pipes to be the difference for us."
Here are some other observations from the game…
* Despite the final score, let's address the obvious. This was not an evenly-matched game in terms of talent. The Devils have already traded away their best veteran players and went full-court press with the youth. But on top of that, the Devils were missing their Top-2 leading scorers in Pavel Zacha (undisclosed) and Jesper Bratt (lower-body), their Top-2 defensemen in Ty Smith (upper-body) and P.K. Subban (COVID-19 protocol) and their top goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood (upper-body).
Tonight's contest was in no way a fair fight. Which is why the Devils' resilience in the third period was all the more heartening. No quit. No surrender. They didn't get the result, but there was a lot to build on from this game.
"These guys have not quit fighting," Ruff said. "I understand the frustration. We all have frustration. But there hasn't been once that this team has laid down and said they 'had enough of it, can't do it anymore.' The try in this team is excellent.
"I know we're young. We're incredibly young. But to go after a team like Pittsburgh with some of the players that they have and fight your way back - sometimes it's easy to fight your way back when it's a big lead and you might get one or two - but to fight back and getting within one and score six, there should be a lot of excitement (for the future)."
* When it comes to moral victories, the Devils got one in the third period. Trailing 6-0 after 40 minutes, the Devils' goal should have been to win the third period and (hopefully) use that momentum heading into the next game.
New Jersey definitely won the third period. It outscored the Penguins, 6-1, and the team showed a little pride and punch back after an ugly opening two periods. It was a good finish for the Devils, showing no quit. Now, they need to bring that at the start of Thursday's rematch.
"We just wanted to come out and win that period," Hischier said. "In hockey you should never quit. I think the team showed some character there.
"That should give us a little bit of confidence (for Thursday). If we fix the first period in the game and play the right way, we just have to make sure we play the right way. Then we can beat that team."
* Amazingly, the game made history on a couple of fronts. The Devils' six goals in the third period tied the franchise record for most goals in a single period, last accomplished April 6, 1996 at Hartford (second period).
And according to Elias Sports, the Penguins became the first team in NHL history to win a game in which they were outscored by five goals in the third period. Prior to, NHL teams were 0-270 and 0-9 in the playoffs.
* Nico Hischier is still in his first season of captaincy for the Devils, and his leadership will be tested over the final stretch of the regular season. The 22-year-old will be relied upon to lead this club through some tough games.
Hischier, who is quite vocal with his teammates on the bench according to Ruff, set a good example in the third period with his effort. He didn't fold up the tent with his team trailing 6-0, nor did he hang his head in defeat.
"I try never to quit. That's just not me," Hischier said. "I want to keep going until the end. If you look at the team, you could see it from everybody. That's a good thing."
Hischier drew a penalty while the Devils were on a power play to create a 5-on-3 opportunity. He then finished off that opportunity by scoring his fourth goal of the season. And it was a nice goal as he had to one-time a sauced, cross-crease feed from Nick Merkley from one knee. A nice display of his talents from Hischier.

* Speaking of Hischier setting the example, his teammates fed off of it. While killing a penalty, an aggressive Sharangovich forced a turnover on Pittsburgh's Kris Letang at the blue line. Sharangovich then outraced Letang, no easy feat, to the puck for a semi-break. Sharangovich perfectly used his body to shield Letang before snapping off a nasty goal through the 6-hole for the unassisted shorty.
"(Sharangovich is) in on a lot of good plays every game," Ruff said. "The reason he's doing as well as he is, his skating is really good, his shot is good."
The Devils were off and running at that point and the goals kept coming. You could see the team's confidence and effort increase with each score.
* And speaking of confidence, Jack Hughes hasn't lacked any this season despite not being rewarded nearly enough for his efforts and creativity. That steady approach paid off tonight as he managed to break through with his 10th goal of the season. It's Hughes' third goal of the year against Pittsburgh. He must really like playing the Penguins.
"It's nice (to score)," Hughes said. "We could sit here and talk all day that I could have plenty more points, but it is what it is. I'm getting a lot of good looks. I just have to keep shooting and they're going to go in. It's nice to get on the board."
* Foote, 19, scored his first-career NHL goal, and did it in style. Foote took a cross-ice feed from Merkley through the slot, dropped to one knee and shot the puck against his body to bury a one-timer. Foote has a deadly shot, and he displayed it with that nasty snipe.
"That's a goal-scorer's goal," Ruff said. "You one-time it from that side of the ice, from your forehand side. If he catches it and shoots it, I think the goalie makes the save. That's a goal-scorer's goal."

Foote now has two points (1G-1A) in two career games.
* The Devils cut the score to 7-6 on a goal with 40.3 seconds left in the game. The goal was scored by Johnsson after he stole the puck from Jarry and backed it in off of the Penguins tender.
It was Johnsson's first goal since Feb. 21, a stretch of 32 games. He started the year with three goals in the opening 13 games of the year, all within a six-game stretch. But had gone cold since. Hopefully, this will get him going. Sometimes it just takes that first one to break the dam.