Game Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins @ New Jersey Devils 12/21/2024

Who: Pittsburgh Penguins (15-14-5, 35 points, 4th place Metropolitan Division) @ New Jersey Devils (21-11-3, 45 points, 1st place Metropolitan Division)

When: 7:00 p.m. ET

Here’s how to watch: Broadcast on SportsNet Pittsburgh, MSGSN for the local market, streaming on ESPN+

The path of the pens lies before us: The Pens return home to face the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday and then enjoy a four-day break before returning to New York next Saturday for the first game of a two-game set against the Islanders.

Enemy bar: The Devils have climbed to the top of the Metro standings with 21 wins in their first 35 games, although they most recently suffered a 4-2 decision against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.

Season series: This is the first of four meetings between the Pens and Devils. Home games are scheduled for February and March, followed by another trip to Newark in April.

Hidden statistics: Jack and Luke Hughes combined for 19 shots on goal in Thursday’s loss to the Jackets, marking the most prolific single-game shots by a pair of brothers in NHL history (h/t Bryce Salvador).

Get to know the devils

Projected lines

FORWARD

Ondrej Palat – Jack Hughes – Jesper Bratt

Timo Meier – Nico Hischier – Dawson Mercer

Paul Cotter – Erik Haula – Stefan Noesen

Tomas Tatar – Justin Dowling – Nathan Bastian

DEFENDER

Brenden Dillon – Dougie Hamilton

Jonas Siegenthaler – Jonathan Kovacevic

Luke Hughes – Brett Pesce

Goalkeeper: Jacob Markstrom, Jake Allen

Possible scratches: Curtis Lazar

IR: None

• The Devils’ trade for Markstrom before the season was one of the main reasons this team climbed to the top of the Metro. The Devils are 6-0-1 in his last seven starts, and he has posted a .922 save percentage and 1.7 goals against average over the time. He could get the call to start against the Pens after Allen shot the net in Thursday night’s loss to the Jackets.
• Dougie Hamilton has returned from chest surgery that caused him to miss most of last season and is back in the Devils’ top lineup, this time alongside offseason addition Brenden Dillon.
• New Jersey has relied heavily on its two top lines lately. Bottom-six players such as Erik Haula, Tomas Tatar, Paul Cotter and Nathan Bastian are battling a goal drought, and general manager Tom Fitzgerald said the team is looking for more secondary goals.

Player stats

(above hockeydb)

• The Blue Jackets led the Devils 3-0 for three minutes on Friday as the Devils began their comeback. Late goals from Luke Hughes and Timo Meier brought New Jersey within one shot of the tie. The Jackets ultimately saved themselves thanks to an empty shot on goal and a strong performance from goaltender Elvis Merzlikins. But the Pens should learn from the Devils’ 18-shot third period on Thursday. A late lead wouldn’t be strong enough to knock this team out.
• Tonight in Newark will be a tale of two very different defenses, especially with the Penguins missing blueline star Marcus Pettersson. The Devils rank fourth in the NHL with 2.60 goals against per game and third with 25.7 goals against per game. The Pens rank 32nd with 3.69 GAA/game and 30th with 31.8 shots SA/game.

And now to the pens

Projected lines

FORWARD

Rickard Rakell – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust

Michael Bunting – Evgeni Malkin – Philip Tomasino

Drew O’Connor – Cody Glass – Anthony Beauvillier

Matt Nieto – Blake Lizotte – Noel Acciari

DEFENDER

Owen Pickering / Kris Letang

Matt Grzelcyk / Erik Karlsson

Ryan Graves/Ryan Shea

Goalkeeper: Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic

Possible scratches: Jesse Puljujarvi, Kevin Hayes, PO Joseph

IR: Marcus Pettersson

• Friday was a day off for the Penguins, with a morning skate likely in Newark today (h/t Taylor Haase). This will be our first look at whether PO Joseph has a chance to crack the Penguins lineup again tonight.
• As Pens PR noted, the Penguins are 8-2-1 in their last 11 games and 3-0-1 in their last four. The Pens will now look to capitalize on that momentum in four straight games against division opponents, starting with the Devils and followed by matchups with the Flyers and Islanders.