PITTSBURGH PENGUINS NOTES:
LAST 2 GAMES
Apr. 2: Pittsburgh 4, Philadelphia 2 – PPG Paints Arena
PIT Goals: Rakell (2), Rust, Poehling (EN)
Multiple Points: Rakell (2G), Malkin (2A), Crosby (2A), Dumoulin (2A)
Goalie: DeSmith (31 saves, 33 shots)
Key Stats: The Penguins took home the win in Kris Letang’s 1,000th game and Bryan Rust’s 500th NHL contest.
PP: 1-4
PK: 5-5
Apr. 1: Boston 4, Pittsburgh 3 – PPG Paints Arena
PIT Goals: Rust (2), Guentzel
Multiple Points: Rust (2G-1A)
Goalie: Jarry (31 saves, 35 shots)
Key Stats: Bryan Rust had a team-high three points (2G-1A) but Pittsburgh fell at home.
PP: 0-6
PK: 1-3
INJURIES
Position Player Status Consecutive Games Missed Total Games Missed
F Nick Bonino Kidney 13 13
D Dmitry Kulikov Lower-Body 11 11
D Jan Rutta Undisclosed 9 24
D Marcus Pettersson Undisclosed 8 10
2022-23 Total Regular-Season Man-Games Lost: 199
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Date Transaction
Apr. 2 F Alex Nylander re-assigned to WBS (AHL).
Mar. 31 D Thimo Nickl acquired from Anaheim in exchange for F Judd Caulfield.
Mar. 28 D Taylor Fedun re-assigned to WBS (AHL).
Mar. 23 F Filip Hallander re-assigned to WBS (AHL).
Pittsburgh’s All-Time Record vs. Devils: 114-114-28
In Pittsburgh: 64-53-10
In New Jersey: 50-61-18
OT Record vs. New Jersey: 8-11-11
Shootout Record vs. New Jersey: 2-1
2022-23 Results: Pittsburgh is 0-2-1.
Penguins All-Time Point Leaders vs. DEVILS:
Mario Lemieux- 74GP, 135 PTS (47G, 88A)
Sidney Crosby- 81GP, 88 PTS (39G-49A)
Evgeni Malkin- 64GP, 61 PTS (27G-34A)
TONIGHT’S GAME
- The Penguins hit the road to take on the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center (TV: AT&T Sportsnet; Radio: 105.9 The X).
- Pittsburgh has points in 10 of its last 14 games against New Jersey (8-4-2) dating back to Mar. 20, 2021.
- Pittsburgh has points in each of its last six visits to the Prudential Center (5-0- 1).
- The Penguins are looking to avoid a series sweep against the Devils. Pittsburgh hasn’t dropped every game in the season series with New Jersey since the 2009-10 campaign (0-6-0).
NEW JERSEY DEVILS NOTES:
Last Game:
New Jersey Devils 1 Winnipeg Jets 6
(48-21-8 – 104 PTS) (43-31-3 – 87 PTS)
Three Stars: 1. C. Hellebuyck 2. N. Ehlers 3. P. Dubois
Last Game:
New Jersey Devils 1 Winnipeg Jets 6
(48-21-8 – 104 PTS) (43-31-3 – 87 PTS)
Three Stars: 1. C. Hellebuyck 2. N. Ehlers 3. P. Dubois
Goals:
WPG: N. Ehlers, N. Niederreiter, M. Barron (Penalty shot), K. Connor, P. Dubois, N. Ehlers (PPG)
NJD: N. Hischier (PPG)
INJURIES/ILLNESS
PLAYER INJURY OUT SINCE GAMES MISSED
Jonathan Bernier – LTIR Lower-body, hip 2021-22 77
Nate Bastian Upper-body 3/13/23 11
Curtis Lazar Undisclosed 3/19/23 8
2022-23 Total Man-Games Lost to Injury/illness: 216
WHAT TO KNOW
The Devils concluded their 12 back-to-back set for the season on Sunday, but fell to 9-3-0 in second half games played for back-to-back sets in 2022-23. Jersey’s team posted 15-8-1 overall record for back-to-back sets in 2022-23. Keep in mind that the Devils were 8-21-5 in back-to-back sets last season. The team’s .646 points percentage for back-to-back sets in 2022-23 ranked seventh in the NHL, per April3. New Jersey opens a two-game homestand on Tuesday and is scheduled to host Columbus on Thursday night. The Devils officially clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Saturday, March 25 for the first time since 2017-18, but also earned 100 points in a season for the first time since 2011-12 (48-28-6=102 PTS). It marked the 14th time in franchise history that the Devils earned 100, or more, points in a single season for the standings. After Thursday’s win vs the New York Rangers, the Devils earned more than 100 points for the first time since 2011-12 (102 PTS). The most points that the Devils earned in a single season was 111 PTS, after posting a 48-19-12 record in 2000-01. The Devils earned 48 wins, or more, in a season for the seventh time in franchise history, after Saturday night’s victory at Chicago. The last time that the team earned 48 wins in a single season was 2011-12 (48-28-6). The Devils enter Sunday’s contest three wins shy of tying the franchise record (51) for the most wins in a single season, which was earned in 2008-09. The second most wins that New Jersey earned in a single season was 49, which the team logged in 2006-07.
VS CONFERENCE/DIVISION
The Devils are 22-5-5 vs the Western Conference this season. The franchise record for most wins vs the Western Conference was 18, which was logged in 2000-01. The Devils own a 26-16-3 record vs the Eastern Conference and 15-6-2 vs the Metropolitan Division.
BACK-TO-BACK GAMES
Overall: 15-8-1
First game: 6-5-1 | home: 0-1-0 | road: 6-4-1
Second game: 9-3-0 | home: 4-2-0 | road: 5-1-0
STATS EXPANDED
New Jersey enters Tuesday’s contest with an overall face-off percentage at 51.5%, while the highest overall face-off percentage the team finished with in franchise history for a single season was 51.4% 1997-98 (face-offs were tracked & recorded starting in 1997-98). Jersey’s team is averaging 34.5 shots per game, while the team’s highest shots per game for franchise history in a single season was 33.1 in 1999-00. The Devils are 27-9-1 when scoring first in a game this season and 21-12-6 when trailing first in a contest. New Jersey’s 21 wins when trailing first in a game this season ranks first in the NHL, while Boston (20-11-2) ranked second. The Devils are 31-1-2 (ranks 7th in NHL) when leading after the second period this season, while Boston ranks first in the NHL for this matter with a 44-1-2 record. The Devils are 15-5-2 when outshot by an opponent this season and 32-16-6 when outshooting teams. The Devils are 1-0-0 when shots are even vs an opponent for 2022-23. The Devils have allowed 1, or fewer, goals against 16 times this season in a game. Jersey’s team allowed one, or fewer goals against, in a game just eight times all of last season.
VS PIT
The Devils and Steel City conclude their 2022-23 regular-season series, while Jersey’s team is 3-0-0 against Pittsburgh this season. The Devils and Pens last faced-off on Feb. 18, at Pittsburgh, which witnessed a 5-2 win for the Devils. The only time that the Devils were undefeated in three, or more, games vs Pittsburgh in a single season was 2009-10, after the Devils recorded a 6-0-0 record vs the Penguins. The only other time that the Devils did not suffer a single regulation loss vs Pittsburgh in a single season was 2017-18 (3-0-1).
ALL-TIME VS THE PENS
Record: 124-108-17-6
Home: 65-47-13-3
Road: 59-61-4-3
DID YOU KNOW…
The most goals in franchise history earned in a single game vs Pittsburgh is nine, which was earned on Oct. 28, 2000, at Pittsburgh in a
9-0 win. The most goals that the Devils allowed in a single game vs Pittsburgh is nine, twice, last logged on Dec. 13, 1990, in a 9-5 loss. The most shots that Jersey earned in a single game vs Pittsburgh is 49, twice, last logged on Oct. 11, 2008, in a 2-1 win at Pitt. The most shots that the Devils allowed in a single game vs Pittsburgh is 49, on Nov. 26, 2011, in a 4-3 shootout loss at Pitt. The last time the Devils shut out the Pens was on Mar. 24, 2016, in a 3-0 win at Pitt. The last time that Pitt. shut out the Devils was on Jan. 26, 2016, in a 2-0 loss at Pitt.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Thu., Apr. 6, vs CBJ, 7:00 P.M.
Sat., Apr. 8, at BOS, 7:00 P.M.
Tue., Apr.11, vs BUF, 7:00 P.M.
Thu. Apr. 13, at WSH, 7:00 P.M.
Regular-season concludes
