New Jersey hosts Pittsburgh after Hischier's 2-goal game

Pittsburgh Penguins (29-11-8, second in the Metropolitan) vs. New Jersey Devils (17-26-5, seventh in the Metropolitan)

Newark, New Jersey; Sunday, 1:30 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: New Jersey hosts the Pittsburgh Penguins after Nico Hischier scored two goals in the Devils' 7-4 win against the Blues.

The Devils are 12-15-3 against Eastern Conference opponents. New Jersey is sixth in the Eastern Conference with 31.6 shots per game and is averaging 2.9 goals.

The Penguins are 6-2-1 against opponents in the Metropolitan. Pittsburgh is 16th in the NHL with 34.6 shots per game and is averaging 3.3 goals.

In their last meeting on Dec. 19, Pittsburgh won 3-2.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jesper Bratt leads the Devils with 14 goals and has 43 points. Damon Severson has one goal and 10 assists over the last 10 games for New Jersey.

Jake Guentzel leads the Penguins with 23 goals and has 49 points. Sidney Crosby has seven goals and nine assists over the last 10 games for Pittsburgh.

LAST 10 GAMES: Devils: 3-7-0, averaging 3.3 goals, 5.9 assists, 2.6 penalties and 5.5 penalty minutes while giving up 3.7 goals per game with an .881 save percentage.

Penguins: 6-1-3, averaging 3.4 goals, 5.9 assists, 2.8 penalties and 6.5 penalty minutes while allowing 2.5 goals per game with a .921 save percentage.

INJURIES: Devils: Jack Hughes: out (health protocols).

Penguins: Evgeni Malkin: out (covid-19), Teddy Blueger: out (upper-body).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.