Penguins at Devils
THE STORY: The Pittsburgh Penguins won't look back at 2011 with much fondness - and neither will their injured superstar. Sidney Crosby will spend the end of the year exactly the way he rang it in - dealing with concussion symptoms - as his Penguins face the host New Jersey Devils on Saturday afternoon. Crosby suffered a concussion New Year's Day against the Washington Capitals, and the symptoms limited him to just 10 games in the calendar year. As they have for most of 2011, the Penguins continue to soldier on without him. Pittsburgh is coming off a 4-2 loss to the rival Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday, ending a four-game winning streak that had seen the Penguins outscore their opponents 19-8. The Devils have won six of their last eight contests, including a 3-1 triumph over the Buffalo Sabres. Devils netminder Martin Brodeur bounced back nicely in December after struggling through the first two months of the season, and has dominated the Penguins in his career.
TV: 3 p.m. ET, Root Sports, MSG Plus
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (21-12-4): Sunday marks the one-year anniversary of David Steckel's hit on Crosby that sent the former NHL scoring champion to the sideline for most of the year. More worrisome is the fact that Crosby had returned to action last month and looked like his old self before incidental contact to the head in a game against Boston sent him back to injured reserve. Officials within the Penguins organization believe Crosby will return at some point this season.
ABOUT THE DEVILS (20-15-1): How does a team with a minus-4 goal differential end up five games above the .500 mark? In New Jersey's case, you can chalk it up to a remarkable string of good fortune in close games. The Devils are 13-4-1 in one-goal contests so far this season, the second-best mark in the NHL. The phenomenon extends to overtime and shootout play, where New Jersey is a sizzling 10-1 on the year.
OVERTIME:
1. Brodeur is 42-25-4 in 75 career games against the Penguins, with a 2.46 goals-against average, a .901 save percentage and nine shutouts - his second-most against any team.
2. Gone are the days when the Devils intimidated teams with their hulking defense. New Jersey ranks 21st in the league in hits and a paltry 29th in blocked shots.
3. The Penguins dominate special teams play, ranked sixth in the NHL with a 19.6 percent success rate on the power play. The Devils are 26th (13.4) and have allowed 11 shorthanded goals.