Devils at Penguins preview

DEVILS (32-22-8) at PENGUINS (36-23-4)
7 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN, ATTSN-PT, MSG+, NHL.TV

The center was traded to the Penguins by the Ottawa Senators in a three-team deal with the Vegas Golden Knights on Feb. 23. He joined the Penguins, who are two points behind the Metropolitan Division-leading Philadelphia Flyers, for an optional morning skate Tuesday.
Penguins goalie Matt Murray was diagnosed with a concussion Tuesday after leaving practice early Monday, when he took a puck to the head from defenseman Olli Maatta, and is out indefinitely. Rookie Casey DeSmith is likely to start against the Devils with Tristan Jarry backing up.
The Devils are 5-2-0 in their past seven games after losing eight of their previous 11 (3-8-0). They hold the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, three points ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Forward Pat Maroon will not play after he was traded to the Devils by the Edmonton Oilers for a third-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft and forward J.D. Dudek on Monday. He could make his Devils debut at the Florida Panthers on Thursday.

Players to watch

Devils forward Taylor Hall has 30 points (14 goals, 16 assists) in a personal 21-game point streak.
Penguins center Evgeni Malkin has 13 points (six goals, seven assists) during a six-game point streak and 27 points (15 goals, 12 assists) in his past 13 games.

They said it

"Matching sometimes, I think, gets somewhat overrated. For us, they were playing very well [Travis] Zajac's line, and they wound up going against [Sidney] Crosby's line. … That's doesn't necessarily mean that will be the plan for tonight." -- Devils coach John Hynes on how he matched lines against the Penguins on Feb. 3
"To have the chance to play with some great players on this team, it's pretty surreal." -- Penguins center Derick Brassard

Devils projected lineup

Taylor Hall -- Nico Hischier -- Kyle Palmieri
Miles Wood -- Pavel Zacha -- Jesper Bratt
Michael Grabner -- Travis Zajac -- Stefan Noesen
Blake Coleman -- Brian Boyle -- Drew Stafford
Andy Greene -- Sami Vatanen
John Moore -- Damon Severson
Will Butcher -- Ben Lovejoy
Keith Kinkaid
Eddie Lack
Scratched:Jimmy Hayes, Patrick Maroon, Mirco Mueller
Injured:Brian Gibbons (broken right thumb), Marcus Johansson (concussion), Cory Schneider (groin/hip)

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Penguins projected lineup

Jake Guentzel -- Sidney Crosby -- Bryan Rust
Carl Hagelin -- Evgeni Malkin -- Patric Hornqvist
Conor Sheary -- Derick Brassard -- Phil Kessel
Zach Aston-Reese -- Riley Sheahan -- Tom Kuhnhackl
Brian Dumoulin -- Kris Letang
Olli Maatta -- Justin Schultz
Matt Hunwick -- Jamie Oleksiak
Casey DeSmith
Tristan Jarry
Scratched:Chad Ruhwedel, Carter Rowney
Injured:Matt Murray (concussion)

Status report

The Devils assigned Schneider to Binghamton of the American Hockey League on a conditioning assignment Tuesday. … Kessel is expected to play after taking a maintenance day Monday.

Stat pack

The Devils are 23-0-2 when leading after two periods. … The Penguins have outscored their opponents 55-29 during an 11-game home winning streak.