Tough to imagine New Jersey's NHL club not coming up during that first conservation between Penguins coach Dan Bylsma and defenseman Paul Martin, who signed with the Penguins in July after spending his entire career with the Devils.
"Talking to Martin, (he said) they didn't do anything special against us," Bylsma said Sunday after the Penguins' brief practice at Consol Energy Center - a session that focused on preparation for this afternoon's game at New Jersey.
The Devils' 6-0-0 mark against the Penguins last season had a special impact on the Atlantic Division, which they won with 103 points. The Penguins finished second with 101.
Avoiding a seventh straight loss to a division rival isn't a talking point for the Penguins, who have dropped consecutive one-goal decisions at home to start the season.
"We want a win," center Sidney Crosby said. "I don't think we need any extra incentive at this point."
They probably don't need a reminder of those six losses to New Jersey, either. Perhaps, though, they should pay attention to some trends from those contests:
• The Devils scored eight goals within the opening five minutes of a period.
• Excluding empty-net goals, the Devils scored twice in the final three minutes of a period.
• New Jersey's second goal in three games was scored on a power play.
• The Penguins failed to score on 29 shots over 21 power plays.
• Crosby finished with a goal and three points to go with a minus-3 rating in six games.
• Right wing Evgeni Malkin went without a goal or point and finished with a minus-4 rating in four games.
• Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was pulled from two games. He dropped five decisions, with a 4.54 goals-against average and .838 save percentage.
Players were hesitant to credit the Devils after losses last season, insisting that scores of the contests were misleading, that the results weren't indicative of all that much.
Crosby said "we hurt ourselves" after a 5-2 loss at New Jersey on March 17. He wasn't wrong - but the Devils' strict adherence to a stifling neutral-zone trap scheme forced mental lapses in the form of own-zone turnovers and cross-ice pass attempts led to goals that did in the Penguins.
Bylsma studied video footage of the New Jersey losses during the summer, and he drew this conclusion: "We felt like our emotional control and ability to stay the course was a big factor in all the outcomes."
Emotional control was a problem for the Penguins in 3-2 loss Thursday night against Philadelphia. Crosby and Malkin, who combined to go without a point, appeared visibly frustrated by an inability to influence the outcome.
A failure to stay the course afflicted the Penguins in a 3-2 loss Saturday night against Montreal. Late over-aggressiveness in the offensive zone led to a turnover that sparked Montreal's two-goal rally - one that included a soft goal allowed by Fleury, who remained dejected yesterday.
The adage goes that those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
Forget their losses last season against New Jersey. The Penguins need to learn from what their defeats last week to simply get a win.
