Devils Seal Season Sweep Over Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins aren't doing anything to help their chances at the 2023 postseason.
With their playoff lives on the line with every game that passes, the Pittsburgh Penguins need as many points as they can get in their final hand full of games.
The Penguins traveled to New Jersey to take on the Devils and were entering not only looking for standings points, but also hoping to avoid the season sweep of yet another team.
Tristan Jarry was given the start and he also is still looking for find some traction and consistency as the playoffs approach.
With both Jarry and the Penguins in need of a stand out contest, the Penguins go out to an extraordinarily slow start.
Dougie Hamilton opened the scoring for the Devils and was followed shortly by Dawson Mercer.
The Devils entered the first intermission with a 2-0 lead on the scoreboard and looked like far and away the better team.
Even into the second period, the Devils continued to roll along when they picked up their third goal of the game from a 5-on-3 advantage.
The Devils continued to carry all of the momentum through the second period and eventually notched their fourth goal of the game before intermission.
Down 4-0 heading into the final period, it didn’t seem like the Penguins had any chance of running a comeback.
Mercer scored three minutes into the final frame to give the Devils a 5-0 lead and his first career hat trick.
Bryan Rust broke up the shutout with a perfectly placed deflection to put the Penguins on the board.
It was too little too late for the Penguins as the Devils didn't allow any more offense.
The Penguins not only got boat raced by the Devils, but they also failed to record 10 shots in any of the three periods.
The Devils cap off the season sweep of the Penguins for the first time since 2010 with a 5-1 victory; the Penguins have now been swept by five Eastern Conference teams (Devils, Carolina Hurricanes, Boston Bruins, New York Islanders, and Montreal Canadiens).
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