The Pittsburgh Penguins may have an upper-hand in their contest against the New Jersey Devils.
The Pittsburgh Penguins may have an upper-hand in their contest against the New Jersey Devils.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have themselves a fair test as they play host to Metropolitan Division rival, the New Jersey Devils.
While the Penguins shouldn’t take the Devils lightly, they may have caught them at the perfect time.
Both teams are riding their own respective streaks, and a number of key players will be absent from the game.
The Penguins enter the matchup riding high with a five-game winning streak, while the Devils enter as losers of three straight.
In their past five games, the Penguins have scored 25 goals and have looked like a dominating team on most nights.
As for the Devils, they will be going up against the Penguins without multiple key faces.
Captain Nico Hischier has been on injured reserve with an upper-body injury; youngster Jake Hughes has been close to a return from an upper-body injury, but it won’t come against the Penguins.
Devils’ newcomer Timo Meier was listed as a game-time decision but was not present for the pregame warmups.
The Penguins have the advantage when it comes to health and current streak, making it a matter of execution.
Head coach Mike Sullivan said after the morning skate that he had no plans of changing his coaching or game strategy based on who is in or out of the Devils’ lineup.
“Our main focus is on our team,” Sullivan said. “Jersey is an up and coming team. They have a lot of young talent.”
Sullivan put focus on the Devils’ power play which is first in the NHL, and will surely be a point of focus for the Penguins.
According to the official lineup, the Devils are playing with 11 forwards and seven defenders.
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