Better Call Sal
Salnalysis
PREVIEW
DEVILS (48-21-8) vs. PENGUINS (38-29-10)
TV: 7:00 p.m. ET; Televised on MSGSN
RADIO: 7:00 p.m. ET; Live on Devils Hockey Network
Head-to-Head:
This is the fourth and final meeting between the Devils and Penguins this season. New Jersey has won all three previous meetings and are looking to sweep the season series.
The first matchup was on Dec. 30, 2022 in Pittsburgh when the visiting team picked up a 4-2 win to end 2022 with a victory. In the second meeting on Jan. 22 at Prudential Center, New Jersey picked up a 2-1 overtime win. In the most recent game on Feb. 18, the Devils offense exploded, beating the Penguins 5-2 on the road.
Jack Hughes, Dougie Hamilton, and Nico Hischier each have three goals against the Penguins this season, while Dawson Mercer and Jesper Bratt each have one.
Devils Team Scope:
The Devils are looking to put Sunday night's 6-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets in the rearview mirror as they start with a two-game homestand. New Jersey have dealt with some ups and downs in the final stretch of the regular season, going 4-4-2 in their last 10 games. Recently, the Devils picked up a big 2-1 win over their rivals, the New York Rangers, and followed it up with a 6-3 victory in Chicago against the Blackhawks. However, 16 games over 31 days was an intense schedule for the Devils in March.
Forward Jack Hughes conitnues to lead the Devils with 40 goals and 90 points, and he's second on the team with 50 assists. Defenseman Dougie Hamilton leads New Jersey with 51 assists. Several players are experiencing significant career-best years in all scoring categories: Hughes, Hamilton, Nico Hischier, and Dawson Mercer.
Vitek Vanecek and Mackenzie Blackwood make up the Devils goaltending tandem. Vanecek has played the majority of games and has a 30-11-4 record with a .908 save percentage and a 2.52 goals against average. He's the only other goaltender in Devils history to have a 30-win season outside of Hockey Hall of Fame netminder and current Devils EVP, Martin Brodeur. Blackwood recently returned from a groin injury that had him on the IR. He's 10-5-2 with a 3.10 goals against average and a .895 save percentage.
Currently New Jersey is second in the Metro Division with 104 points. They are currently three points back from the Hurricanes with one more game played but ahead of the Rangers by three.
Penguins Team Scope:
The Penguins are in a pattern of winning one game then losing another right after, and have gone 4-6-0 over their last 10 contests. Two of their last three losses were by a goal including a one-goal loss to the top team in the NHL, the Boston Bruins. Over this ten game span the Penguins have won against the Philadelphia Flyers, Nashville Predators, Washington Capitals, and Colorado Avalanche. Right now, Pittsburgh is just one point ahead of the Florida Panthers for the second wild card spot so every point matters in their final five games of the season.
Jake Guentzel leads the Penguins with 35 goals while Sidney Crosby's 57 assists and 88 points lead the team. Guentzel's four goals over the last five games are a team-high. Pittsburgh's veteran forward Evgeni Malkin has 80 points this season, 25 goals and 55 assists, showing he's a huge part of the Penguins offense. Malkin's six points, five of which are assists, over Pittsburgh's last five games leads the team. Tristan Jarry has a 22-11-6 record with a 2.93 goals against average and a .909 save percentage. Casey DeSmith has a 3.17 goals against average with a .905 save percentage and a 15-16-4 record.
Pittsburgh has middle of the pack special teams with the 15th best power play scoring on 21.4% of their opportunities, and the 17th best penalty kill with a 78.8 kill rate. The Penguins are one of the top faceoff teams which wins 52.2% of their draws, which is ninth best in the leauge.
By the Numbers:
Devils forward Jack Hughes is six points away from tying a franchise single-season scoring record that Patrik Elias set in the 2000-01 season. Hughes missed four games this season, while Elias did play in all 82 games the year he set the record. Hughes has nine multi-goal games this year and has 30 multi-point games this season (franchise record).
Penguins forward Jake Guentzel is just five goals back from tying his career-high, which he has achieved on two previous occasions: last season and the 2018-19 season. Right now, Guentzel is 15 points back from tying his career-high set last season at 84 points.
Injuries:
Devils
Nathan Bastian (Upper-body, day-to-day)
Curtis Lazar (Lower-body, day-to-day)
Jonathan Bernier (Hip, LTIR)
Penguins
Jan Rutta (Lower-body, day-to-day)
Marcus Pettersson (Lower-body, IR)
Nick Bonino (Abdomen, IR)
TV: 7:00 p.m. ET; Televised on MSGSN
RADIO: 7:00 p.m. ET; Live on Devils Hockey Network
Head-to-Head:
This is the fourth and final meeting between the Devils and Penguins this season. New Jersey has won all three previous meetings and are looking to sweep the season series.
The first matchup was on Dec. 30, 2022 in Pittsburgh when the visiting team picked up a 4-2 win to end 2022 with a victory. In the second meeting on Jan. 22 at Prudential Center, New Jersey picked up a 2-1 overtime win. In the most recent game on Feb. 18, the Devils offense exploded, beating the Penguins 5-2 on the road.
Jack Hughes, Dougie Hamilton, and Nico Hischier each have three goals against the Penguins this season, while Dawson Mercer and Jesper Bratt each have one.
Devils Team Scope:
The Devils are looking to put Sunday night's 6-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets in the rearview mirror as they start with a two-game homestand. New Jersey have dealt with some ups and downs in the final stretch of the regular season, going 4-4-2 in their last 10 games. Recently, the Devils picked up a big 2-1 win over their rivals, the New York Rangers, and followed it up with a 6-3 victory in Chicago against the Blackhawks. However, 16 games over 31 days was an intense schedule for the Devils in March.
Forward Jack Hughes conitnues to lead the Devils with 40 goals and 90 points, and he's second on the team with 50 assists. Defenseman Dougie Hamilton leads New Jersey with 51 assists. Several players are experiencing significant career-best years in all scoring categories: Hughes, Hamilton, Nico Hischier, and Dawson Mercer.
Vitek Vanecek and Mackenzie Blackwood make up the Devils goaltending tandem. Vanecek has played the majority of games and has a 30-11-4 record with a .908 save percentage and a 2.52 goals against average. He's the only other goaltender in Devils history to have a 30-win season outside of Hockey Hall of Fame netminder and current Devils EVP, Martin Brodeur. Blackwood recently returned from a groin injury that had him on the IR. He's 10-5-2 with a 3.10 goals against average and a .895 save percentage.
Currently New Jersey is second in the Metro Division with 104 points. They are currently three points back from the Hurricanes with one more game played but ahead of the Rangers by three.
Penguins Team Scope:
The Penguins are in a pattern of winning one game then losing another right after, and have gone 4-6-0 over their last 10 contests. Two of their last three losses were by a goal including a one-goal loss to the top team in the NHL, the Boston Bruins. Over this ten game span the Penguins have won against the Philadelphia Flyers, Nashville Predators, Washington Capitals, and Colorado Avalanche. Right now, Pittsburgh is just one point ahead of the Florida Panthers for the second wild card spot so every point matters in their final five games of the season.
Jake Guentzel leads the Penguins with 35 goals while Sidney Crosby's 57 assists and 88 points lead the team. Guentzel's four goals over the last five games are a team-high. Pittsburgh's veteran forward Evgeni Malkin has 80 points this season, 25 goals and 55 assists, showing he's a huge part of the Penguins offense. Malkin's six points, five of which are assists, over Pittsburgh's last five games leads the team. Tristan Jarry has a 22-11-6 record with a 2.93 goals against average and a .909 save percentage. Casey DeSmith has a 3.17 goals against average with a .905 save percentage and a 15-16-4 record.
Pittsburgh has middle of the pack special teams with the 15th best power play scoring on 21.4% of their opportunities, and the 17th best penalty kill with a 78.8 kill rate. The Penguins are one of the top faceoff teams which wins 52.2% of their draws, which is ninth best in the leauge.
By the Numbers:
Devils forward Jack Hughes is six points away from tying a franchise single-season scoring record that Patrik Elias set in the 2000-01 season. Hughes missed four games this season, while Elias did play in all 82 games the year he set the record. Hughes has nine multi-goal games this year and has 30 multi-point games this season (franchise record).
Penguins forward Jake Guentzel is just five goals back from tying his career-high, which he has achieved on two previous occasions: last season and the 2018-19 season. Right now, Guentzel is 15 points back from tying his career-high set last season at 84 points.
Injuries:
Devils
Nathan Bastian (Upper-body, day-to-day)
Curtis Lazar (Lower-body, day-to-day)
Jonathan Bernier (Hip, LTIR)
Penguins
Jan Rutta (Lower-body, day-to-day)
Marcus Pettersson (Lower-body, IR)
Nick Bonino (Abdomen, IR)
Dmitry Kulikov (Lower-body, IR)
Last Game vs. Pittsburgh:
Your New Jersey Devils Projected Lineup:
#90 Tomas Tatar - #13 Nico Hischier (C) - #91 Dawson Mercer
#18 Ondrej Palat (A) - #86 Jack Hughes (A) - #63 Jesper Bratt
#96 Timo Meier - #56 Erik Haula - #70 Jesper Boqvist
#44 Miles Wood - #20 Michael McLeod - #14 Nathan Bastian
#88 Kevin Bahl - #7 Dougie Hamilton
#33 Ryan Graves - #6 John Marino
#71 Jonas Siegenthaler - #28 Damon Severson
#41 Vitek Vanecek
#29 Mackenzie Blackwood
Team Leaders:
G: Hughes - 40
A: Hamilton - 51
P: Hughes - 90
+/-: Tatar - +37
PIM: Wood - 72
PPG: Hughes/Hamilton/Bratt - 8
SHG: Hischier - 3
GWG: Hischier - 9
W: Vanecek - 30
GAA: Vanecek - 2.52
SV%: Vanecek - .908%
Pittsburgh Penguins Projected Lineup
#59 Jake Guentzel - #87 Sidney Crosby (C) - #17 Bryan Rust
#16 Jason Zucker - #71 Evgeni Malkin (A) - #67 Rickard Rakell
#43 Danton Heinen - #25 Ryan Poehling - #64 Mikael Granlund
#10 Drew O'Connor - #77 Jeff Carter - #15 Josh Archibald
#8 Brian Dumoulin - #58 Kris Letang (A)
#73 Pierre-Olivier Joseph - #26 Jeff Petry
#52 Mark Friedman - #2 Chad Ruhwedel
#35 Tristan Jarry
#1 Casey DeSmith
Team Leaders:
G: Guentzel - 35
A: Crosby - 57
P: Crosby - 88
+/-: Crosby - +8
PIM: Malkin - 82
PPG: Malkin/Guentzel/Rakell - 10
SHG: Poehling - 2
GWG: Crosby - 8
W: Jarry - 22
GAA: Jarry - 2.93
SV%: Jarry - .909%
LFGD
Last Game vs. Pittsburgh:
Your New Jersey Devils Projected Lineup:
#90 Tomas Tatar - #13 Nico Hischier (C) - #91 Dawson Mercer
#18 Ondrej Palat (A) - #86 Jack Hughes (A) - #63 Jesper Bratt
#96 Timo Meier - #56 Erik Haula - #70 Jesper Boqvist
#44 Miles Wood - #20 Michael McLeod - #14 Nathan Bastian
#88 Kevin Bahl - #7 Dougie Hamilton
#33 Ryan Graves - #6 John Marino
#71 Jonas Siegenthaler - #28 Damon Severson
#41 Vitek Vanecek
#29 Mackenzie Blackwood
Team Leaders:
G: Hughes - 40
A: Hamilton - 51
P: Hughes - 90
+/-: Tatar - +37
PIM: Wood - 72
PPG: Hughes/Hamilton/Bratt - 8
SHG: Hischier - 3
GWG: Hischier - 9
W: Vanecek - 30
GAA: Vanecek - 2.52
SV%: Vanecek - .908%
Pittsburgh Penguins Projected Lineup
#59 Jake Guentzel - #87 Sidney Crosby (C) - #17 Bryan Rust
#16 Jason Zucker - #71 Evgeni Malkin (A) - #67 Rickard Rakell
#43 Danton Heinen - #25 Ryan Poehling - #64 Mikael Granlund
#10 Drew O'Connor - #77 Jeff Carter - #15 Josh Archibald
#8 Brian Dumoulin - #58 Kris Letang (A)
#73 Pierre-Olivier Joseph - #26 Jeff Petry
#52 Mark Friedman - #2 Chad Ruhwedel
#35 Tristan Jarry
#1 Casey DeSmith
Team Leaders:
G: Guentzel - 35
A: Crosby - 57
P: Crosby - 88
+/-: Crosby - +8
PIM: Malkin - 82
PPG: Malkin/Guentzel/Rakell - 10
SHG: Poehling - 2
GWG: Crosby - 8
W: Jarry - 22
GAA: Jarry - 2.93
SV%: Jarry - .909%
LFGD
