Penguins at Devils
THE STORY: The Pittsburgh Penguins are the hottest team in the Eastern Conference, with nine victories in their last 10 games after beating the Boston Bruins 2-1 on Saturday. What’s more impressive is they are doing it without Sidney Crosby and Jordan Staal. The Penguins will try to keep the good times going Sunday when they visit a New Jersey Devils’ team that is also on a roll. The Devils, who have beaten Pittsburgh two of three meetings this season, have won three straight since the All-Star break and are 6-2-1 in their last nine. Martin Brodeur, who had started seven straight, got the day off Saturday and should be back in net for New Jersey. Pittsburgh goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, a winner of nine straight, will likely play back to back Sunday.
TV: 1 p.m. ET; ROOT (Pittsburgh), MSG-Plus (New Jersey).
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (30-18-4): Pittsburgh has allowed just one goal in five of the last 10 games. Four of the last nine victories have come in a shootout and another in overtime. Fleury has given up 20 goals in his nine-game win streak, and Evgeni Malkin leads the offense with 13 goals in 13 games. The Penguins will have a tough task against a suddenly productive Devils power play, but they have killed off 25 of 27 to stand fourth in the league. Forward Matt Cooke has two goals in last three games after going 19 games without one.
ABOUT THE DEVILS (29-19-3): Two recent pickups are paying dividends for New Jersey. Defenseman Kurtis Foster had a pair of goals and an assist Saturday, giving him 11 points in 23 games since being acquired from Anaheim. Alexei Ponikarovsky has five points in five games since coming over from Carolina. The Devils notched three power-play goals in the 6-4 victory over Philadelphia on Saturday and have six in 16 chances the last four games. Brodeur is 4-2-1 in his last seven games and has 44 career wins against Pittsburgh.
OVERTIME:
1. New Jersey leads the league in shorthanded goals for (12) and against (13).
2. Fleury is 12-17-4 against New Jersey, including 1-2-0 this season.
3. Ilya Kovalchuk has six points in three games against Pittsburgh this season.