The Pittsburgh Penguins will look to make it six in a row on Thursday night.
The Pittsburgh Penguins will finally be back in action on Thursday night.
They've had a few days off since their 5-4 overtime win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday and will look to extend their winning streak to six when the New Jersey Devils come to town. This is a Devils team that is extremely fragile after losing 9-0 to the New York Islanders on Tuesday.
The Devils have lost six of their last eight games and are three points out of the final playoff spot, currently held by the Penguins. The Devils are also the only Metro team that the Penguins have yet to beat this season.
Despite the Devils' struggles as of late, they still have players who can hurt the Penguins, most notably Jack Hughes. He's missed some time this season but when he's been healthy, he's been great, compiling 11 goals and 24 points in 25 games. Jesper Bratt leads the team in points with 33, followed by Nico Hischier with 32.
Dawson Mercer and Timo Meier are also two other forwards that the Penguins will have to be on high alert for.
The Penguins are expected to get Evgeni Malkin back for this game. He has been out for a month with an injury, but has practiced this week and looks ready to go. He's been practicing on a line with Ben Kindel and Egor Chinakhov.
Here are the expected lines for the game:
Forwards
Rakell-Crosby-Rust
Malkin-Kindel-Chinakhov
Mantha-Novak-Brazeau
Dewar-Lizotte-Acciari
Defense
Wotherspoon-Karlsson
Kulak-Letang
Shea-St. Ivany
Stuart Skinner will start in goal for the Penguins after having the night off on Sunday. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET on SportsNet Pittsburgh. Fans can also listen to the game on 105.9 'The X.'
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