Penguins vs. Devils, Game 78: Lines, Starting Goalies & How to Watch

The Pittsburgh Penguins have had a couple of days to relax.

Or, at least, to breathe a bit easier.

They’ve had a hold, however tenuous, on a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference since Sunday evening, with no threat of losing it, if only because none of the teams chasing them played Monday.

That all changes this evening. By the time the Penguins’ 7:08 p.m. game at New Jersey is over, they could be anywhere from first in the wild-card race to again looking up at the playoff field.

It all hinges on how they fare against the Devils while Florida, which trails the Penguins by one point, plays host to Buffalo. A Penguins loss in regulation, coupled with a Panthers victory, would allow Florida to hurdle them.

Then again, if the Penguins leave Prudential Center with a victory, they will move in front of the New York Islanders, who have the first wild-card spot but are idle tonight.

The Penguins, Islanders and Panthers all will have four games remaining after this evening.

Beating the Devils, who sit second in the Metropolitan Division, will be a challenge, but the Penguins have fared surprisingly well at Prudential Center in recent years, going 5-0-1 in their past six visits.

Of course, most of those pitted them against a Devils team that was undergoing a major rebuild.

That process isn’t quite complete, but former Penguins assistant GM Tom Fitzgerald has constructed a club that is poised to sweep the season series from the Penguins for the first time since going 6-0 against them in 2009-10.

Although the Devils are guaranteed to be in the Stanley Cup playoffs for just the second time in 11 seasons, they still have plenty for which to play tonight.

New Jersey trails Carolina, which leads the Metro, by only three points, but also has just a three-point cushion over the third-place New York Rangers. If the Devils can’t overtake the Hurricanes, who also have a game-in-hand on them, they at least want to lock up home-ice advantage for an opening-round series with the arch-rival Rangers.

Expected Pittsburgh Penguins Lines

Guentzel-Crosby-Rust

Zucker-Malkin-Rakell

Heinen-Poehling-Granlund

O’Connor-Carter-Archibald

Defense

Dumoulin-Letang

Joseph-Petry

Friedman-Ruhwedel

Goalie

Jarry

Expected New Jersey Devils Lines

Tatar-Hischier-Mercer

Palat-Hughes-Bratt

Meier-Haula-Boqvist

Wood-McLeod-Bastian

Defense

Bahl-Hamilton

Graves-Marino

Siegenthaler-Severson

Goalie

Vanecek

Special Teams

Penguins power play: 58 for 271, 21.4%, 14th in NHL (tied)

Penguins penalty-kill: 52 for 275, 78.8%, 7th in NHL

Devils power play: 45 for 210, 21.4%, 14th in NHL (tied)

Devils penalty-kill: 39 for 217, 82%, 17th in NHL

Pittsburgh Penguins Game Notes

Sidney Crosby needs three points to become the 15th player in NHL history to record 1,500.

Bryan Rust has 13 goals and 12 assists in 32 career games against the Devils, the most points he’s put up against any opponent.

The Penguins are one of six teams to have at least three players with 10 or more power-play goals. They are Jake Guentzel, Evgeni Malkin and Rickard Rakell.

Brian Dumoulin has an assist in three consecutive games and has tied his career-high with 23 points this season.

Guentzel has at least one point in each of his past six games at Prudential Center.

The Penguins have been outscored, 94-82, in the final 20 minutes of regulation this season, while New Jersey has run up a 93-62 edge in goals during the third period.

Devils center Jack Hughes, who has a team-high 90 points, has eight goals and seven assists in 17 career games against the Penguins.

New Jersey is 27-9-1 when scoring the first goal of the game.

Dougie Hamilton of the Devils leads NHL defensemen with seven game-winning goals.

Former Penguins defenseman John Marino has four goals and 10 assists in 60 games with New Jersey.

The Devils are 15-5-2 when being outshot.

How to Watch

TV: AT&T SportsNet

Radio: 105.9 the X