The New Jersey Devils face the Pittsburgh Penguins with both teams looking to build off strong starts to the season. The Devils have a 22-11-2 record but with back-to-back losses and only two wins in their last 10 games, have fallen out of first place in the Metropolitan Division. The Penguins have a 19-10-6 record and are near the top of the Metropolitan Division but have lost their last three games. Both teams are looking to improve within the division and the Eastern Conference and the upcoming game should be a great one as a result.
The Devils have been carried by their offense all season, scoring 3.31 goals per game, but recently the unit has fallen apart, scoring only four goals in the last two games. Jasper Bratt, Jack Hughes, and Nico Hischier have scored 44 goals and 60 assists but the rest of the offense has struggled. The hope is that Miles Wood and Erik Haula can step up as they play a pivotal role in the forward unit but have only added nine goals and 19 assists to the offense.
The offense has struggled recently but the defense has stepped up for the Devils all season, allowing only 2.57 goals per game. Jonas Seigenthaler and Dougie Hamilton have combined for 5.2 defensive point shares and 95 blocked shots while Damon Severson and Brenden Smith have combined for 2.3 defensive point shares to add depth to the unit. In addition, goaltender Vitek Vanecek has been great in the net with a .910 save percentage and a 2.39 goals-against average on 533 shots.