Penguins at Devils
The Pittsburgh Penguins will try to rebound from a surprising home loss 24 hours earlier when they visit the Metropolitan Division-rival New Jersey Devils on Sunday. The Penguins gave up the final three goals of the game in a 4-2 loss to struggling Calgary on Saturday after winning 10 of their previous 12 at Consol Energy Center.
Pittsburgh still holds the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference by three points over Philadelphia and is three behind the New York Islanders for third in the division. The good news is that the Penguins will not have to face All-Star Cory Schneider, who suffered a lower-body injury in the 4-2 loss at Dallas on Friday and is out indefinitely. The Devils have dropped seven of their last nine games to fall five points behind Pittsburgh in the wild-card race, and the loss of Schneider could be a major blow to their chances. Adam Henrique will lead an injury-depleted lineup into Sunday's contest having scored four goals in his last three games.
TV: 5 p.m. ET, ROOT (Pittsburgh), MSG Plus (New Jersey)
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (33-23-8): Captain Sidney Crosby and Patric Hornqvist remained hot with two points apiece in Saturday’s loss while Evgeni Malkin, who had notched five points in his previous four games, was kept off the scoresheet. Crosby leads the team with 63 points, recording three goals to go along with four assists in his last four games, and Hornqvist has posted five tallies and nine points in his last five contests. Marc-Andre Fleury’s three-game winning streak ended against Calgary, which could mean rookie Matt Murray gets the start Sunday.
ABOUT THE DEVILS (31-28-7): The recently acquired Devante Smith-Pelly, who has scored in his first two games with the team, and fellow forward Joseph Blandisi both were fined $2,000 for diving/embellishment but avoided suspensions. Kyle Palmieri leads the team with 24 goals and 43 points while Henrique has climbed within one in each category with Mike Cammalleri (hand) still out undefinitely. Keith Kinkaid (5-5-1), who owns the team’s only victory in the last five games, is likely to get the start Sunday while Yann Danis was recalled from Albany of the American Hockey League to serve as the backup.
OVERTIME
1. New Jersey D Adam Larsson is the team's active leader with a plus-14 rating.
2. Pittsburgh D Kris Letang has scored 11 goals and needs one in the last 18 games to set a career high.
3. The Devils have gone 3-1-1 in their last five meetings with the Penguins and have posted two straight shutouts against them at home.