DEVILS (28-28-12) vs. PENGUINS (39-23-6)
TV: 7:00 PM ET; Televised on MSG+
Head-to-Head:
Tonight's game is the third of four meetings between the two teams this season.
The two clubs met twice in November, with the Devils winning 2-1 at home and the Penguins winning 4-1 a week later back in Pittsburgh.
The three Devils goals were scored by Travis Zajac, Taylor Hall and Blake Coleman. Four different Penguins registered a goal while Alex Galchenyuk and Sam Lafferty each led the Pens with two points (both assists).
Devils team scope:
The Devils are coming off two of their biggest wins of the season, beating the St. Louis Blues 4-2 after the Blues skated in on an eight-game winning streak and then topped the Rangers at Madison Square Garden 6-4 in a game where the Rangers would have pulled into a playoff spot with a win.
New Jersey has the sixth-best record in the NHL since Christmas. In 33 games, which is almost a half-season sample set, they have 17 wins and 41 points. Over a full season, that's a 102 point pace. The only teams ahead of them in the standings are: Columbus (43 points), Colorado (43), Philadelphia (44), Boston (47) and Tampa Bay (54).
Penguins team scope:
The Penguins have struggled as of late and have seen their hold on a playoff spot start to dissipate. They have 84 points, still five clear of a playoff position, but have won only two of their last 10 games (2-8-0) which included a six-game losing streak. More recently, they lost both of their games this past weekend, to Washington 5-2 and Carolina 6-2.
Evgeni Malkin leads the team with 71 points in 54 games. Sidney Crosby has only played 40 games but he has 47 points to rank third on the club.
By the Numbers:
Tonight's game is the third of 10 straight games that the Penguins have against the Metropolitan Division. They've played 16 games against the Metro this season and have a record of 7-6-3.
Pittsburgh hasn't allowed a power play goal in four straight games and have only been shorthanded 187 times this season which is the sixth-fewest total in the NHL. Sidney Crosby has 33 goals and 72 points in 65 career games against the Devils while Malkin has 54 points in 58 games. Crosby is first among all active NHL players in points against the Devils and Malkin is third. Washington's Alex Ovechkin has 64 points in 57 career games against New Jersey to rank second among all active players. Only 10 players in NHL history have scored more goals against the Devils than Crosby's 33.
Injury Updates:
Devils - Will Butcher (lower body) is on IR
Penguins - Jake Guentzel (shoulder) is on IR; Zach Aston-Reese (lower body) is day-to-day; Dominik Simon (upper body) is day-to-day; Anthony Angello (upper body) is day-to-day
-- Marc Ciampa, NewJerseyDevils.com