James Nichols
Much like how Jack Hughes and Team USA faced Team Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics, the New Jersey Devils (28-28-2) visit the Pittsburgh Penguins (29-15-2) without Sidney Crosby.
Crosby was injured in Canada’s semifinal matchup against Finland and could not tough it out for the gold medal game. As a result, the Penguins placed him on injured reserve, and he’s set to miss about four weeks.
The Devils are directly chasing the Penguins in their unlikely pursuit of the playoffs. After yet another boring, punchless loss last night as the NHL schedule resumed, the Devils seek to find any kind of scoring against Pittsburgh tonight.
Let’s dive into tonight’s matchup.
What to Know vs. Penguins
—The Devils and Steel City meet for the second of four matchups this season, after Jersey’s team defeated the Pens in a 2-1 shootout victory on Nov. 8, at the Rock.
—Arseny Gritsyuk scored the lone goal in regulation against Pittsburgh on Nov. 8, while Paul Cotter (GDG) and Jesper Bratt both converted in the shootout round.
—Jake Allen earned the victory between the pipes against Pittsburgh and stopped both of Pittsburgh’s shootout attempts.
—Bratt owns 28 career points (8g-20a) in 31 career games against Pittsburgh, which are his second most career points against a single opponent (vs PHI – 29).
—Looking back…Dawson Mercer earned his first career NHL hat-trick against Pittsburgh in April of 2022-23.
—In the dots…Nico Hischier ranked first in the NHL with 687 face-off wins this season, while Pittsburgh’s Sydney Crosby ranked second with 649 face-off wins in 2025-26, per Jan. 7.
—The Devils and Penguins have both recorded three games without
2025-26 vs. Penguins
11/8/25 SOW 2-1 Prudential Center
1/8/26 L 4-1 PPG Paints Arena
2/26/26 7:00 P.M. ET PPG Paints Arena
4/9/26 7:00 P.M. ET Prudential Center
Devils vs. Penguins
All-time Record: 131-112-17-6
All-time Home Record: 70-49-13-2
All-time Road Record: 61-63-4-3
Projected Devils Lineup*
Forwards
Timo Meier – Nico Hischier – Dawson Mercer
Jesper Bratt – Jack Hughes – Connor Brown
Arseny Gritsyuk – Cody Glass – Lenni Hameenaho
Paul Cotter – Nick Bjugstad – Maxim Tsyplakov
Defensemen
Brett Pesce – Johnathan Kovacevic
Jonas Siegenthaler – Dougie Hamilton
Brenden Dillon – Simon Nemec
Goaltenders
Jacob Markstrom
Jake Allen
*Lineup subject to change
Current Injuries: Zack MacEwen (upper body, out for season), Luke Hughes (separated shoulder)
2025-26 Total Man-Games Lost: 263
Projected Penguins Lineup*
Forwards
Avery Hayes – Rickard Rakell – Ben Kindel
Egor Chinakhov – Tommy Novak – Evgeni Malkin
Anthony Mantha – Ben Kindel – Justin Brazeau
Connor Dewar – Blake Lizotte – Noel Acciari
Defensemen
Parker Wotherspoon – Erik Karlsson
Samuel Girard – Kris Letang
Ryan Shea – Connor Clifton
Goaltenders
Stuart Skinner
Arturs Silovs
*Lineup subject to change
How to Watch the Devils Game — 7:00 P.M. ET
Watch: MSGSN
Radio: DEVILS HOCKEY NET
Next Up
Sat., Feb. 28 At St. Louis 5:00 P.M. E.T.
Tue., Mar. 3 Vs Florida 7:00 P.M. E.T.
Wed., Mar. 4 Vs Toronto 7:00 P.M. E.T.
Sat., Mar. 7 Vs NY Rangers 3:00 P.M. E.T.
Sun., Mar 8 Vs St. Louis 5:00 P.M. E.T.
