Devils at Penguins
THE STORY: The Pittsburgh Penguins will look to halt a three game losing streak on Saturday when they host the New Jersey Devils. The Pens’ three losses have all been at the hands of Atlantic Division foes – the Devils, Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers. The Penguins and Devils are tied for third in the Atlantic with 46 points, but Pittsburgh has played one fewer game. The two teams have split the first two of six meetings this year, with each team winning on home ice. In the last meeting on Dec. 31st, the Devils skated to a 3-1 win. Ilya Kovalchuk, David Clarkson and Zach Parise scored for New Jersey. Goalie Martin Brodeur made 29 saves for the win. Chris Kunitz had the lone goal for Pittsburgh, who got 18 saves from Marc-Andre Fleury.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG Plus, Root
ABOUT THE DEVILS (22-16-2): New Jersey is coming off a 5-2
home win over the Florida Panthers. The win stopped a two-game slide for
the Devils. Kovalchuk scored twice, while Parise, Patrik Elias and
rookie Adam Henrique also tallied in the win. Johan Hedberg made 22
saves to improve to 11-6-1. He shares the net with Brodeur, who is
11-10-1 on the season. The Devils, who have seven forwards with 10 or
more goals this season, are 11-9-1 on the road and 6-3-1 in their last
10 games.
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (21-14-4): Pittsburgh is coming off a 3-1 home loss to the Rangers. Ben Lovejoy’s first goal of the year was the only tally the Pens could muster on 37 shots fired at Henrik Lundqvist. The Penguins, 5-5-0 in their last 10, will also be looking to stop a two-game losing streak on home ice. Despite the skid, the Penguins are 11-5-2 in Pittsburgh. The Devils showdown is the second of a three-game homestand before the Penguins hit the road for three games. Pittsburgh is 5-5-0 versus Atlantic Division teams, and 4-8-1 against teams that currently hold down playoff positions.
OVERTIME:
1. Parise is second in the NHL with three shorthanded goals.
2. Henrique is third in rookie goal scoring with 11, right behind Edmonton’s Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (13) and Philadelphia’s Matt Read (12).
3. Elias played in his 1,000th NHL game Friday. He joined Ken Daneyko (1,283) and Brodeur (1,156) as the only Devils to reach the milestone while playing all 1,000 games with New Jersey.