Devils at Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins look to continue their home dominance of the New Jersey Devils when the Metropolitan Division rivals meet at Consol Energy Center on Tuesday. The Penguins scored seven unanswered goals en route to an 8-3 triumph on Oct. 28 to secure their ninth victory in the last 11 visits by New Jersey. Captain Sidney Crosby tallied twice in that contest but was kept off the scoresheet on Saturday as Pittsburgh posted a 3-2 victory over Carolina to salvage a split of their home-and-home series.
"I'm sure they will be motivated," the reigning Hart Trophy winner said of the Devils. "I think a lot of teams that come in are, I think, for us." While the Penguins have won three of four, New Jersey is winless in that stretch (0-2-2) and has dropped six of its last seven (1-4-2) after suffering a 3-1 loss to the surging New York Islanders on Saturday. Adam Henrique missed the setback with an upper-body injury but traveled with the club and is questionable to play on Tuesday.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, RSN, TVA, MSG Plus (New Jersey), ROOT (Pittsburgh)
ABOUT THE DEVILS (9-11-2): With Henrique's availability in question and Travis Zajac and Martin Havlat being sidelined with lower-body injuries, New Jersey signed familiar face Scott Gomez to a two-way contract on Monday. "I'm ready. Ready to help out, ready to come back. I'm excited," said the 34-year-old Gomez, who was selected by the Devils with the 27th overall pick of the 1998 draft. Gomez, who skated with fellow veterans Patrik Elias and Jaromir Jagr at practice on Monday, collected two goals and 10 assists in 46 games with Florida last season.
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (16-5-2): Marcel Goc is expected to face New Jersey after injuring his foot while blocking a shot on Friday versus the Hurricanes. "It was bothering him a little bit this morning, but every day it’s going to settle down,” coach Mike Johnston said. "It's nothing that’s going to keep him out long-term. We’ll see how he is with pain tolerance over the next couple of days." Paul Martin suffered a cut near his left eye in practice but is expected to face his former team on Tuesday, but fellow defenseman Kris Letang (lower body) has been ruled out versus the Devils.
OVERTIME
1. Pittsburgh C Evgeni Malkin notched an assist versus Carolina and has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in his last eight games.
2. New Jersey D Jon Merrill has been cleared by doctors to return to the lineup after sustaining an arm injury on Nov. 1.
3. The Penguins went 3-for-7 on the power play against the Devils in the first meeting but are mired in a 3-for-20 slump over their last 10 contests.