Devils at Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins and New Jersey Devils experienced distinctly different emotions after seeing their respective gaudy streaks come to an end on Thursday. After a lopsided loss halted a 10-game overall point stretch (8-0-2) and eight-game home point streak (7-0-1), the Penguins look to get back on track Friday when they host a Devils team that ended a seven-game winless skid (0-6-1) with a shutout.
Captain Sidney Crosby recorded his 21st point in his past 15 games with Pittsburgh's lone goal in a 7-1 shellacking by red-hot Columbus on Thursday and also tallied the Penguins' 4-3 shootout victory over New Jersey on Nov. 26. Fellow Hart Trophy winner Evgeni Malkin notched three assists in the encounter versus the Devils and has 20 points (six goals, 14 assists) in his last 15 games. While Pittsburgh was essentially done in by three goals in a 51-second span in the third period, New Jersey ignited a dormant power play with a pair of man-advantage goals to post a 4-0 triumph over Philadelphia. The Devils were just 1-for-14 on the power play in the previous five games.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TVAS, MSG-Plus2 (New Jersey), ROOT (Pittsburgh)
ABOUT THE DEVILS (13-13-7): Playing behind workhorse goaltender Cory Schneider, Keith Kinkaid has struggled to come up big in his limited opportunities this season - save for a strong performance against Pittsburgh last month. The 27-year-old, who turned aside 46 shots in the loss, was just 14 seconds away from securing a victory before Crosby deftly corralled a loose puck and flipped it past the netminder. Veteran Michael Cammalleri tallied twice in that contest and has seven of his nine goals on the road this season.
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (21-8-5): Pittsburgh's inability to slow Columbus' attack underscored the loss of puck-moving defensemen Kris Letang (lower body, injured reserve) and Trevor Daley (upper body). Fellow blue-liner Ian Cole, who logged a team-high 25:29 of ice time, was credited with an assist after his initial shot produced a rebound that Crosby batted out of the air and into the net. Hardly an offensive sparkplug throughout his career, the 27-year-old Cole has three assists in the last two contests and nine points (one goal, eight assists) in December to up his season total to a career-high 13 after just 34 games.
OVERTIME
1. Pittsburgh has recorded 11 power-play goals in its last seven games, but went 0-for-5 with the man advantage in the first meeting with New Jersey.
2. Devils RW P.A. Parenteau has three goals in his last five games after going 14 contests without a tally.
3. The teams will reconvene in New Jersey after the Christmas break to play the third contest of their five-game season series.