Zajac, Devils hand Penguins fourth loss in past five games

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins lost for the fourth time in five games when Travis Zajac had four points for the New Jersey Devils in a 6-3 win at PPG Paints Arena on Monday.

Zajac had one goal and three assists, and Keith Kinkaid made 37 saves for New Jersey (19-23-7), which ended a three-game losing streak.
The Devils have won each of their three games against the Penguins this season and are 6-0-1 in their past seven against them.
WATCH: [All Devils vs. Penguins highlights]
"We match up well against them. We played good team defense," Kinkaid said. "It's just one of those things. I guess we match up well against them. We always have our 'A' game. ... Everyone looked fresh. Everyone was moving. Everybody was flying out there and playing good defensively."
Matt Murray made 26 saves for Pittsburgh (26-17-6), which is 1-4-0 in its past five games after winning 10 of the previous 11. Murray lost for the second time in 12 starts since returning from a lower-body injury that forced him to miss nine games.

The Penguins, who have allowed at least four goals in five of their past six games, went 0-for-5 on the power play and gave up a shorthanded goal.
"We knew the game we were up against," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "Every team in this league plays hard. Give [the Devils] credit; they played hard tonight, they defended hard. I think we have to do a better job in those areas of our game so that we can bring more consistency. When we talk about forging an identity, those are the very things that we talk about.
"For me, the foundation of the game is just rooted in competitive spirit. You have to be willing to invest emotionally first and foremost. When you do, that's usually when players and teams are at their best."
Zajac gave the Devils a 1-0 lead at 13:08 of the first period on a wrist shot from the left face-off circle.

"He's so consistent in the way he plays," Devils coach John Hynes said of Zajac, who had four points in a game for the fourth time in his NHL career. "He's mentally engaged. He does the right things systematically all the time. He's so competitive on the puck. He's one of these guys that he wins a lot of the hard areas of the game. Usually when you do that, it allows you to control the game."
Damon Severson made it 2-0 at 14:53 of the first with a shot that went off Murray's glove for his seventh goal of the season.
Brian Boyle scored shorthanded at 3:30 of the second period to give the Devils a 3-0 lead before Derick Brassard cut it to 3-1 at 4:28 of the second.
Blake Coleman made it 4-1 at 12:57 of the second period on a one-timer.

Kyle Palmieri gave the Devils a 5-1 lead with a power-play goal at 11:42 of the third period before Matt Cullen scored shorthanded to make it 5-2 at 12:30.
Pavel Zacha's power-play goal made it 6-2 at 13:37.
Bryan Rust scored at 18:03 for the 6-3 final.

They said it

"I thought we were skating really well right from the start. We seemed to manage the puck pretty well there and handled the pressure early and won some wall battles and created a few odd-man rushes. We played in their zone a lot there." -- Devils defenseman Andy Greene
"I think the urgency and desperation and work ethic [weren't there]. There should be a lot of energy from our group; didn't seem like there was. ... We've got to go out there and do it. We can say everything we want to say and say all the right things, but you have to go out there and do it. I think we all understand." -- Penguins captain Sidney Crosby

Need to know

Devils defenseman Sami Vatanen left the game after being hit along the glass by Brassard at 9:12 of the third period. Hynes said Vatanen received stiches above his eye but is expected to be OK. Brassard received a five-minute major penalty for elbowing and a game misconduct. … New Jersey has outscored Pittsburgh 15-5 this season. .... Devils forward Miles Wood returned after missing three games because of a lower-body injury. He had the primary assist on Zajac's goal. ... The Penguins traded defenseman Jamie Oleksiak to the Dallas Stars on Monday for a fourth-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft. Pittsburgh acquired Oleksiak from Dallas on Dec. 19, 2017, for the same fourth-round pick. ... Pittsburgh defenseman Jack Johnson sustained an undisclosed injury in the third period. Sullivan expects to have an update Tuesday.

What's next

Devils: Host the New York Rangers on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, MSG+, MSG, NHL.TV)
Penguins: Host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN, TVAS)