Devils at Penguins
THE STORY: The New Jersey Devils are starting to absorb some key injuries, but they will not be expecting any sympathy when they visit Atlantic Division rival Pittsburgh on Saturday night. The Penguins have drawn up the blueprint on how to survive major injuries, with superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin spending considerable time on the shelf both last season and the start of this one. New Jersey has been without future Hall of Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur for over a week with a shoulder injury, and suffered another blow Friday night when young center Jacob Josefson broke his collarbone when crashing into the boards during a 4-3 shootout loss to the San Jose Sharks. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, is slowly getting reinforcements back in the lineup. Malkin, who has missed four straight games, could return to the lineup Saturday. Kris Letang will be back after serving a two-game suspension for boarding.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG+, ROOT
ABOUT THE DEVILS (3-1-1): The injury to Josefson was a double whammy for New Jersey, which was less than a minute from its fourth straight victory when the Sharks scored the tying goal and eventually won in a shootout. G Johan Hedberg stood on his head, making 38 saves, but suffered his first loss in four games since Brodeur was hurt. Devils captain Zach Parise scored a shorthanded goal on the first penalty shot of his career.
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (5-2-2): Pittsburgh, which will be playing its league-high 10th game, has been getting a lot of mileage out of its penalty-killing unit. The Penguins stifled Montreal on four power plays in Thursday’s 3-1 victory and have killed off a staggering 30 of 31 chances. James Neal is tied for the league lead with seven goals. He scored his sixth in as many games while Marc-Andre Fleury came within 92 seconds of a shutout Thursday.
OVERTIME:
1. Devils LW Patrik Elias scored his 92nd career power-play goal Friday, tying John MacLean for the most in franchise history.
2. In six meetings last season, the Penguins and Devils combined for 19 goals. New Jersey scored only three goals in three games in Pittsburgh.
3. Penguins LW Steve Sullivan will play in his 900th game. He started his career with New Jersey, scoring in his first game in 1996.