Penguins visit the Devils following Rakell's 2-goal game
Pittsburgh Penguins (40-22-16, in the Metropolitan Division) vs. New Jersey Devils (40-35-3, in the Metropolitan Division)
Newark, New Jersey; Thursday, 7 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Penguins visit the New Jersey Devils after Rickard Rakell scored two goals in the Penguins' 5-2 win against the Florida Panthers.
New Jersey is 7-16-2 against the Metropolitan Division and 40-35-3 overall. The Devils have allowed 238 goals while scoring 215 for a -23 scoring differential.
Pittsburgh is 12-2-9 against the Metropolitan Division and 40-22-16 overall. The Penguins have scored 277 total goals (3.6 per game) to rank second in league play.
Thursday's game is the fourth time these teams match up this season. The Penguins won 4-1 in the previous meeting.
TOP PERFORMERS: Nico Hischier has 26 goals and 35 assists for the Devils. Jack Hughes has seven goals and 11 assists over the past 10 games.
Anthony Mantha has 31 goals and 30 assists for the Penguins. Rakell has scored 11 goals and added three assists over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Devils: 5-4-1, averaging 3.3 goals, 5.9 assists, 3.5 penalties and 11 penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game.
Penguins: 6-4-0, averaging 4.3 goals, 7.5 assists, four penalties and 9.2 penalty minutes while giving up 3.5 goals per game.
INJURIES: Devils: Zack MacEwen: out for season (acl), Arseny Gritsyuk: out for season (upper-body), Brett Pesce: out (lower-body), Stefan Noesen: out for season (knee).
Penguins: Filip Hallander: out (leg), Blake Lizotte: out (upper-body), Stuart Skinner: day to day (upper-body), Caleb Jones: out for season (shoulder).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
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