Devils at Penguins
The New Jersey Devils added some scoring punch at the trade deadline while the Pittsburgh Penguins saw goaltender Matt Murray receive an early knockout during Monday's practice. It remains to be seen if new Devils forward Patrick Maroon or Murray are in their respective team's lineup on Tuesday as Pittsburgh bids to win its 12th straight home game.
Maroon benefited from playing with reigning Hart Trophy winner Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Edmonton to record 30 points (14 goals, 16 assists), a total that would place him tied for fourth on the Devils. "We're a better team (Monday) than we were a couple days ago," New Jersey general manager Ray Shero said after acquiring Michael Grabner from the New York Rangers in addition to the 29-year-old Maroon. While Penguins new acquisition Derick Brassard hopes to receive immigration papers in a bid to play on Tuesday, Murray's availability is in question after sustaining an undisclosed injury - with general manager Jim Rutherford saying that the 23-year-old will be re-evaluated by team doctors on Tuesday. Pittsburgh promptly recalled goaltender Casey DeSmith from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for his fifth stint of the season with the NHL club.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Sportsnet, TVAS, MSG-Plus (New Jersey), AT&T Sportsnet-Pittsburgh
ABOUT THE DEVILS (32-22-8): Taylor Hall extended his NHL-best point streak to 14 games (nine goals, nine assists) with assists on both of Kyle Palmieri's third-period goals in Saturday's 2-1 triumph over the New York Islanders. The Devils have won five of seven overall and ended a five-game losing skid to Pittsburgh with a 3-1 victory on Feb. 3. Travis Zajac collected two goals and an assist in that contest, but has since collected just five points (one goal, four assists).
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (36-23-4): Forward Patric Hornqvist is expected to sign a multi-year contract extension as soon as Tuesday, according to the team's website. "Over my career I've done very few contracts during the season," Rutherford said. "This shows what the organization and I think of Patric to get it done sooner than later. I felt it was important that he knows and we know that he's going to be here going forward." Evgeni Malkin netted his team's lone goal in the encounter versus New Jersey and has scored 22 times in his last 21 contests following his third three-point performance in four outings in Saturday's 6-5 setback at Florida.
OVERTIME
1. Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby has 33 points (six goals, 27 assists) in January and February, although he was kept off the scoresheet in the lone meeting with New Jersey.
2. Devils G Keith Kinkaid has permitted seven goals in his last four outings (3-1-0) and turned aside 15 of 16 shots to pick up the win versus the Penguins earlier this month.
3. Pittsburgh acquired Josh Jooris from Carolina for fellow F Greg McKegg on Monday while New Jersey gained the services of Maroon for a third-round draft pick and prospect J.D. Dudek.