Pittsburgh takes on New Jersey in division battle

New Jersey Devils (17-28-5, eighth in the Metropolitan) vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (31-13-8, second in the Metropolitan)

Pittsburgh; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Pittsburgh hosts New Jersey in a matchup of Metropolitan teams.

The Penguins are 8-3-1 against division opponents. Pittsburgh has scored 171 goals and is 10th in the league averaging 3.3 per game. Jake Guentzel leads the team with 25.

The Devils are 12-17-3 in Eastern Conference play. New Jersey ranks ninth in the Eastern Conference averaging 2.9 goals per game, led by Jack Hughes with 14.

In their last meeting on Feb. 13, Pittsburgh won 4-2.

TOP PERFORMERS: Kris Letang leads the Penguins with a plus-18 in 48 games this season. Sidney Crosby has nine assists over the last 10 games for Pittsburgh.

Jesper Bratt leads the Devils with 29 total assists and has 43 points. Damon Severson has eight assists over the last 10 games for New Jersey.

LAST 10 GAMES: Penguins: 4-3-3, averaging 2.8 goals, 4.8 assists, 2.5 penalties and five penalty minutes while giving up 2.8 goals per game with a .912 save percentage.

Devils: 2-8-0, averaging 2.9 goals, 5.1 assists, 2.7 penalties and 7.1 penalty minutes while giving up 3.9 goals per game with an .874 save percentage.

INJURIES: Penguins: Teddy Blueger: out (upper-body).

Devils: Jesper Bratt: day to day (upper-body), Andreas Johnsson: day to day (lower body).

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