MATCHUP PREVIEW
The Penguins hit the road for a brief two-game trip against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center. Pittsburgh is 3-1-0 in its last four games against New Jersey dating back to Feb. 19, 2019. Last season, the Penguins went 2-1-0 against the Devils, which included a 1-1-0 record at the Prudential Center. Pittsburgh has points in six of its last nine trips to the Prudential Center (6-3-0) dating back to Mar. 6, 2016. The Penguins have earned points in 11 of their last 15 games overall (11-4-0).
QUICK HITS
Tonight’s visit to the Prudential Center will be Pittsburgh’s first trip back to New Jersey since March 10, 2020, a 5-2 Penguins win in what ended up being the final regular season contest of the team’s 2019-20 season.
Overall, the Penguins are 7-2-0 during the month of March. Their seven wins are tied for second-most, while their .778 points percentage is tied for sixth-best in the NHL. No team has scored more goals in March than Pittsburgh’s 34.
Casey DeSmith and Tristan Jarry have combined to allow eight goals over Pittsburgh’s last six games, stopping 174 of 182 combined shots (.956 SV%). The duo has turned aside 97 of 100 shots (.970 SV%) in the team’s last three games.
Pittsburgh’s winning streak was snapped at six games on Tuesday night against the Bruins. During the team’s 6-0 run, the Penguins outscored opponents by a 25-9 margin and had the third-longest winning streak in the league at the time of it ending.
The Penguins face former assistant coach Mark Recchi tonight for the first time since his offseason departure. Recchi spent the previous six seasons with the Penguins organization, serving as a development coach from 2014-17 and an assistant coach from 2017-20.
HINDSIGHT IS 20/20
Kasperi Kapanen‘s assist on Tuesday vs. Boston pushed his season point total to 20, giving the Penguins a league-high six players with 20 or more points. Last season, the Penguins finished their 69-game regular season with 13 players who recorded 20 or more points.
TURBO TIME
In scoring the Penguins lone goal on Tuesday night against Boston, Brandon Tanev etched his name on the scoresheet for the sixth time in his past seven games (2G-5A), while recording a plus-7 during that span. Since his dominant stretch started on March 6, Tanev’s seven points are tied for the third most on Pittsburgh. Tanev’s seven goals on the year are tied for the fifth-most on the Penguins. With Tanev set to play in his 30th game of the season tomorrow, his seven goals have already surpassed his most goals through the first 30 games of a season at any point in his career.
PLAYER INTERVIEW
Video: Sidney Crosby speaks with the media.