About the Devils - 04-05-11
A preview of the Devils.
When and where: 7:30 p.m., Consol Energy Center.
TV: Versus.
Record: 36-37-5, 77 points. The Devils are in 12 place of the Eastern Conference and fourth place of the Atlantic Division.
Leading Scorer: Patrik Elias, 58 points (19 goals, 39 assists).
Last Game: 3-1 home loss to the Canadiens Saturday. Martin Brodeur made 26 saves for the Devils.
Last Game against the Penguins: 1-0 road shootout loss, March 25. Marc-Andre Fleury made 25 saves for the Penguins.
Devils Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Zach Parise (above). In three road games against the Penguins last season, he had seven points.
Ex-Penguins on the Devils: Johan Hedberg, G.
Ex-Devils on the Penguins: Arron Asham, RW; Paul Martin D; Mike Rupp, C.
Useless Devils Trivia Vaguely Related to the Penguins: Hedberg is one of three former Penguins who have worn No.1 for the Devils. The others are Michel Plasse and Denis Herron.
Best Devils Video We Could Find: An oldie but a goodie. Former Devils coach Jim Schoenfeld being concerned about the nutrition of referee Don Koharski:
{youtube width="480" height="390"}XXpcb5aTnPk{/youtube}
Probable goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury (34-20-5, 2.32 GAA, .918 SV%) for the Penguins and Martin Brodeur (22-25-3, 2.40 GAA, .905 SV%) for the Devils.
Injuries: For the Penguins, forward Arron Asham ("lower body") is day to day. Forward Dustin Jeffrey ("lower body") is out. Forwards Sidney Crosby (concussion), Nick Johnson (concussion) and Evgeni Malkin (knee) are on injured reserve. For the Devils, defensemen Colin White ("lower body") and Anton Volchenkov ("lower body") are out. Defensemen Matt Corrente (shoulder), Bryce Salvador (concussion) and Matt Taormina (ankle) are on injured reserve.
Potential lines and defensive pairings: The Penguins primary lines and defensive pairings against the Panthers Saturday were:
Chris Kunitz - Jordan Staal - Tyler Kennedy
James Neal - Mark Letestu - Alex Kovalev
Chris Conner - Maxime Talbot - Pascal Dupuis
Mike Rupp - Craig Adams - Mike Comrie
Kris Letang - Brooks Orpik
Zbynek Michalek - Paul Martin
Matt Niskanen - Ben Lovejoy
-The Devils primary lines and defensive pairings in practice yesterday were:
Ilya Kovalchuk - Travis Zajac - Nick Palmieri
Brian Rolston - Patrik Elias - Mattias Tedenby
Zach Parise - Jacob Josefson - Dainius Zubrus
Adam Mair - David Steckel - David Clarkson
Anssi Salmela - Andy Greene
Henrik Talinder - Mark Fayne
Mark Fraser - Jay Leach
-Matt Cooke is serving a suspension.
-Assuming he plays, Kovalev will be the 50th player in NHL history to appear in 1,300 career regular season games (PG+).
-Kunitz has appeared in 449 career games.
-Letang has 99 career assists.
-Comrie has 197 career assists.
-Dupuis has 146 career assists.
-Rupp has 47 career goals.
-Brent Johnson is a new dad (PG+).
-Staal has 196 career points.
-Kovalchuk has 698 career points.
-Clarkson has 99 career points.
-Tallinder has 98 career assists.
-Brodeur has 359 career losses.
-The Penguins will hold their annual "Shirts Off Our Backs" promotion after the game.
-Our live blog begins at approximately 6:30 p.m. Please tune in.
(Photo: Christopher Pasatieri/Getty Images)