NEWARK — The Pittsburgh Penguins (9-4-2) are fresh from an uplifting revival win over their arch nemesis Washington Capitals Thursday. The Penguins didn’t make it easy on themselves, but course-corrected after punting a three-goal lead for the second time in two games. They hit the road for an early tilt against the New Jersey Devils Saturday at the Prudential Center.
The puck drops just after 12:30 p.m.
And follow our colleagues at New Jersey Hockey Now for the latest Devils news.
Penguins coach Dan Muse will announce his starting goalie at 10:30 a.m.. After practice Friday, Muse played coy with attempts to get him to divulge the weekend goalie rotation or plans for rookie netminder Sergei Murashov, whose next NHL game will be his first.
The Penguins have indeed squandered three-goal leads in each of their last two games. They meekly fell to the Toronto Maple Leafs in Toronto on Monday, 4-3. Thursday, they overcame their own sloppiness and reclaimed the momentum and control of the game against Washington.
Bryan Rust scored the Penguins’ third power-play goal of the game in the third period for the game-winner. Sidney Crosby claimed the NHL goal-scoring lead with a pair of power-play goals, Anthony Mantha scored a rebound goal, and Connor Dewar capped his own energetic third period with the empty-netter.
The Penguins are in a three-way tie atop the Eastern Conference with 20 points, but have a game in hand on both New Jersey and the Montreal Canadiens.
The winner of the game today will have sole possession of first place in the Metro Division.
New Jersey has won two of their last three games, but only two of their last five. In a game full of bad and fluky goals, they forced overtime against Montreal at home Thursday by scoring a late goal with the extra attacker.
New Jersey then won in overtime. Jack Hughes had a pair of assists, and Jakob Markstrom stopped 16 of 19 shots.
The Penguins’ lineup should look similar to their Thursday win, though the team got bad news on rookie Filip Hallander, who was diagnosed with a blood clot and will be out for at least three months.
Markstrom is expected to start for New Jersey, but New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe refused to reveal his goalie at the pregame media availability.
The Penguins’ goalie is Arturs Silovs (Updated).
How to Watch
TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh
Radio: 105.9 The X
Key Matchup
Pay special attention to the special teams battle. The Penguins not only scored three power-play goals Thursday, but their penalty kill has been lights out over the last seven games. They’ve allowed only one power play goal in that span (19-for-20, 95.0%).
However, New Jersey typically has a strong power play and ranks sixth this season. Their penalty kill is also ranked sixth.
The Penguins are feasting on the man-advantage under assistant coach Todd Nelson.
Expected Penguins Lines
Bryan Rust-Sidney Crosby-Ben Kindel
Tommy Novak-Evgeni Malkin-Anthony Mantha
Ville Koivunen-Danton Heinen-Kevin Hayes
Joona Koppanen-Blake Lizotte-Connor Dewar
Defense
Parker Wotherspoon-Erik Karlsson
Ryan Shea-Kris Letang
Ryan Graves-Connor Clifton
Goalie: Arturs Silovs
Devils Lines
Stefan Noesen-Jack Hughes-Jesper Bratt
Timo Meier-Nico Hischier-Dawson Mercer
Ondrej Palat-Cody Glass-Arseny Gritsyuk
Paul Cotter-Juho Lammikko-Luke Glendening
Defensemen
Jonas Siegenthaler-Simon Nemec
Brenden Dillon-Luke Hughes
Dennis Cholowski-Colton White
Goaltender: Jakob Markstrom, expected.
Injuries
Tristan Jarry, Noel Acciari, and Justin Brazeau remain on injured reserve, but Kevin Hayes traveled with the team to New Jersey, and his return is imminent.
UPDATE: Kevin Hayes will be activated Saturday and play.
The Devils are banged up, per usual. Evgenii Dadonov, Zack Macewen, Mark McLaughlin, Jonathan Kovacevic, Brett Pesce, and Connor Brown are on IR. Defenseman Dougie Hamilton is day-to-day.
Special Teams
Penguins’ power play: 35.9%. Penguins penalty kill: 84.4%, 9th.
Devils power play: 27%, 6th. Devils penalty kill: 82.7%, 6th.
Penguins Game Notes
The Penguins have points in eight of their last 11 games on the road against the Devils (7-3-1).
Bryan Rust has 33 points (18-15-33) and is plus-10 in 40 career games against the Devils. It’s the most points he has scored against any one team.
Sidney Crosby leads the league in power-play goals (6). Crosby also leads the NHL in goals (11).
Anthony Mantha has nine points (6-3-9) in his last 10 games.
Murashov, 21, has played in seven games with the WBS Penguins this season, with a 5-2-0 record, 1.73 goals-against average, and a .931 save percentage with one shutout. Murashov’s 1.73 goals-against average is third in the AHL:
Erik Karlsson is just three points shy of tying Peter Forsberg for the eighth-most points by a Swedish-born player in NHL history.
Categorized: Penguins Pregame
