Penguins at Devils
THE STORY: The Pittsburgh Penguins will look for their 11th straight win on Saturday afternoon when they visit the Garden State to take on the New Jersey Devils. The Penguins have moved to within four points of the Atlantic Division-leading New York Rangers. This is the fifth of six meetings between the clubs, with the Devils winning the last three games by an 11-4 margin.
TV: 1 p.m. ET, ROOT, MSG-Plus
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (43-21-5): Captain Sidney Crosby returned on Thursday and helped the Penguins to a 5-2 win over the Rangers with two assists and a plus-3 rating. Crosby had been out for more than three months with a nagging concussion/neck injury. Pittsburgh was also boosted by the return of defenseman Kris Letang, who finished with a plus-5 rating. “There is still some rust there and that will take time,” Crosby said. “I felt a little more comfortable as the game went on. To get into a game like that, a big situation with the intensity, I was happy to get the first one over with and keep going.”
ABOUT THE DEVILS (41-25-5): New Jersey sits just two points behind the Philadelphia Flyers for fifth in the East and four behind the Penguins. When the NHL season rolls into March teams rely heavily on goaltending - and New Jersey has little worry with future Hall-of-Famer Martin Brodeur. On Thursday, Brodeur recorded his second shutout of the season and 118th career with a 1-0 victory over the Colorado Avalanche. The Devils could also soon get an offensive boost as Travis Zajac has been cleared to return to full practice. Zajac had offseason surgery on his Achilles tendon and missed the first 30 games.
OVERTIME:
1. All-Star Evgeni Malkin has 14 points during the Penguins' winning streak.
2. New Jersey’s Ilya Kovalchuk set the NHL single-season record on Thursday with his seventh shootout-winning goal. He has converted 10 times on 12 attempts.