Penguins sweep Devils, clinch second in Metro
NEWARK, N.J. -- In a game that featured 11 goal-scorers and 25 players recording at least one point, the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the New Jersey Devils 7-4 on Thursday night at the Prudential Center to sweep their five-game season series.
The Penguins (50-19-11) won their fourth straight contest and clinched second place in the Metropolitan Division, giving them home-ice advantage in their first-round playoff matchup against the Columbus Blue Jackets, who lost to the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday.
Nick Bonino scored a third-period power-play goal and added two assists for the Penguins. Jake Guentzel had a goal and an assist, and Sidney Crosby contributed two helpers. Pittsburgh received at least one point from 16 of its 18 skaters.
Penguins goaltender Matt Murray stopped 34 shots, while his counterpart, Cory Schneider, finished with 21 saves for the Devils (28-38-14).
Kyle Palmieri led New Jersey with a goal and an assist, the 100th helper of his career. Travis Zajac had two assists.
The Penguins led 2-1 after one period, then 5-4 after each team scored three goals in a wild second period.
The scoring binge started in a fluky way when Pittsburgh's Carter Rowney knocked a puck off his own goaltender and over the goal line 4:59 into the game, with New Jersey's Stefan Noesen credited with his eighth goal.
Bryan Rust and Guentzel answered back with goals less than three minutes apart, at 14:24 and 17:07 of the opening period, to give the Penguins a 2-1 lead.
Ten seconds into the second period, Devils defenseman John Moore wired his 11th goal past Murray to even the score. Three minutes later, the Penguins were back ahead by two goals as Josh Archibald scored his third goal at 2:09 and Conor Sheary buried his 23rd after Crosby dished a pass between his legs at 3:05.
New Jersey's Taylor Hall scored a power-play goal at 5:34, and Pittsburgh's Patric Hornqvist replied on the power play two minutes later.
Palmieri's team-high 26th goal with 1:24 remaining in the second brought the Devils within a goal again.
NOTES: Devils LW Taylor Hall reached the 20-goal mark for the fifth time in his career. ... Devils C Jacob Josefson returned from a 17-game injury absence and assisted on Stefan Noesen's game-opening goal. ... The Devils scratched RW Devante Smith-Pelly (lower body), LW Joseph Blandisi, D Steven Santini, D Dalton Prout, and LW Luke Gazdic. ... Penguins D Trevor Daley returned after missing 20 games with a knee injury. ... The Penguins scratched C Evgeni Malkin (hand), LW Chris Kunitz (lower body), LW Carl Hagelin (lower body), LW Tom Sestito (upper body), D Mark Streit, and D Cameron Gaunce.