Coming off a 3-0 victory over the New York Rangers inside the walls of Madison Square Garden on January 31, the Pittsburgh Penguins continue Atlantic division play against the defending Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Devils. The Devils are looking to rebound from a 5-4 overtime loss to the New York Islanders.
When and where: Consol Energy Center (Pittsburgh, PA); 1 p.m. et (ROOT Sports, NHL Network, MSG Plus)
Season records: Penguins (4-3-0; 8 pts.); Devils (3-0-3; 9 pts.)
Season series: First meeting of the season
Last meeting: The Penguins and Devils last met on March 25, 2012. Led by a thirty-two save performance by Marc-Andre Fleury, the Penguins triumphed over the Devils, 5-2. The victory was the forty-first of the season for Fleury. Pascal Dupuis, Jordan Staal, Chris Kunitz, Evgeni Malkin, and Sidney Crosby each contributed a goal and an assist in the win, and Paul Martin was an outstanding plus-4.
Who to keep an eye on:
1. Ilya Kovalchuk: Always the dangerous scorer against any team he faces, Ilya Kovalchuk has had his success against the Penguins as of late. In six games against the Penguins last season, Kovalchuk put up eleven points, including four goals. This season, the Russian forward has five points (2 goals, 3 assists) in six games.
2. Adam Henrique: The playoff hero for the Devils a season ago, Henrique recently returned from thumb surgery on November 29. In his return to the ice against the Islanders, the ex-Windsor Spitfire scored at 13:50 of the third period.
Injuries:
Penguins: D Matt Niskanen (ankle), LW Chris Kunitz (illness)
Devils: D Mark Fayne (upper body injury)
Former Penguins alert: G Johan Hedberg
Additional notes:
1. Zach Boychuk will be making his Penguins debut on the second line with Evgeni Malkin and James Neal.
2. Based on what the team wore during practice on Friday, it appears that the Penguins will be wearing their alternate blue uniforms for the game. These are the same uniforms worn during the 2011 Winter Classic against the Washington Capitals.
Projected lineups:
Penguins (via @Penguins)
Chris Kunitz-Sidney Crosby-Pascal Dupuis
Zach Boychuk-Evgeni Malkin-James Neal
Matt Cooke-Brandon Sutter-Tanner Glass
Craig Adams-Joe Vitale-Tyler Kennedy
Brooks Orpik-Paul Martin
Simon Despres-Kris Letang
Deryk Engelland-Robert Bortuzzo
Marc-Andre Fleury
Devils
Adam Henrique-Travis Zajac-Ilya Kovalchuk
Dainius Zubrus-Patrik Elias-David Clarkson
Ryan Carter-Stephen Gionta-Steve Bernier
Krys Barch-Jacob Josefson-Peter Harrold
Bryce Salvador-Marek Zidlicky
Matt Greene-Adam Larsson
Henrik Tallinder-Anton Volchenkov
Martin Brodeur/Johan Hedberg
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