Penguins at Devils preview

PENGUINS (10-6-2) AT DEVILS (5-8-4)

Crosby, the Penguins captain and leading scorer with 17 points (five goals, 12 assists) is out at least six weeks after having surgery to repair a core muscle injury Thursday.
Pittsburgh's retooled top line is expected to have Malkin between forwards Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust. Center Jared McCann is expected to move up to the second line between forwards Dominik Kahun and Dominik Simon.
Pittsburgh, 4-1-2 in its past seven games, also will be without defenseman Kris Letang and forward Patric Hornqvist, each out with a lower-body injury.
Goalie Mackenzie Blackwood will make his third straight start for the Devils, who are 3-4-2 in their past nine games. He's 3-2-0 with a 2.57 goals-against average and .915 save percentage in his past five starts.

Players to watch

Malkin has six points (one goal, five assists) in a four-game point streak and 53 points (21 goals, 32 assists) in 56 games against New Jersey.
Devils forward Wayne Simmonds has scored a goal in consecutive games.

They said it

"We have to work as a group and understand five guys on the ice can do it together, and if we're on the same page and buying into each other, I think we can be all right." -- Penguins center Nick Bjugstad on playing without injured center Sidney Crosby
"The Penguins have a lot of depth, they have a lot of very good players. They bring the same game all the time and they're very competitive. So when they have some of their big players out, they really bond well as a team and we know it's going to be a tough game." -- Devils coach John Hynes

Penguins projected lineup

Jake Guentzel -- Evgeni Malkin -- Bryan Rust
Dominik Kahun -- Jared McCann -- Dominik Simon
Alex Galchenyuk -- Nick Bjugstad -- Sam Lafferty
Zach Aston-Reese -- Teddy Blueger -- Brandon Tanev
Brian Dumoulin -- John Marino
Marcus Pettersson -- Justin Schultz
Jack Johnson -- Juuso Riikola
Matt Murray
Tristan Jarry
Scratched: Chad Ruhwedel
Injured: Sidney Crosby (core muscle surgery), Kris Letang (lower body), Patric Hornqvist (lower body)

Devils projected lineup

Taylor Hall -- Jack Hughes -- Kyle Palmieri
Jesper Boqvist -- Nico Hischier -- Jesper Bratt
Blake Coleman -- Travis Zajac -- Nikita Gusev
Miles Wood -- Pavel Zacha -- Wayne Simmonds
Andy Greene -- Damon Severson
Will Butcher -- P.K. Subban
Mirco Mueller -- Matt Tennyson
Mackenzie Blackwood
Cory Schneider
Scratched: John Hayden, Colton White
Injured: Sami Vatanen (upper body), Connor Carrick (finger), Kevin Rooney (upper body)

Status report

Neither team held a morning skate. ... Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said after practice on Thursday that Letang and Hornqvist are "making progress." ... The Devils placed Vatanen on injured reserve retroactive to Nov. 8 and recalled defenseman White from Binghamton of the American Hockey League.

Stat pack

Galchenyuk will become the first player from the 2012 NHL Draft to play 500 games. He also needs one point for 300 points in the League. … Pittsburgh is 97-54-21 in 172 games without Crosby in the lineup since he entered the NHL in 2005-06. ... Hall has 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists) in 15 games against the Penguins.