About the Devils - 12-06-10

Monday, 06 December 2010 09:29

Written by Seth Rorabaugh

A preview of the Devils.

When and where: 7 p.m., Consol Energy Center.

TV: FSN Pittsburgh, MSG Plus, RDS.

Record: 8-16-2, 18 points. The Devils are in 14th place in the Eastern Conference and fourth place in the Atlantic Division.

Leading Scorer: Patrik Elias, 17 points (4 goals, 13 assists).

Last Game: 5-3 road loss to the Flyers, Saturday. Elias and Travis Zajac each had a goal and an assist for the Devils.

Last Game against the Penguins: 3-1 home loss, Oct. 11. Paul Martin had a goal and an assist for the Penguins.

Devils Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Jason Arnott. He has points in his last three games against the Penguins.

Ex-Penguins on the Devils: Johan Hedberg (above), G.

Ex-Devils on the Penguins: Arron Asham, RW; Paul Martin D; Mike Rupp, C.

Useless Devils Trivia Vaguely Related to the Penguins: The postseason of the Devils franchise was recorded by Penguins goaltender Frank Pietrangelo in a 4-0 win of Game 7 of a 1991 Patrick Division semifinal series.

Best Devils Video We Could Find: Gotta support your team:

Probable goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury (11-6-1, 2.42 GAA, .909 SV%) for the Penguins and Johan Hedberg (4-5-1, 3.04 GAA, .900 SV%) for the Devils.

Injuries: For the Penguins, forward Evgeni Malkin (undisclosed) is questionable. Forward Mike Comrie (undisclosed) is out . Forward Jordan Staal (hand) and defenseman Alex Grant (wrist) are on injured reserve. For the Devils, goaltender Martin Brodeur (elbow) is probable. Forwards Jacob Josefson (hand), Zach Parise (knee), defensemen Mark Fraser (hand), Anssi Salmela (knee), Bryce Salvador (concussion) and Matt Taormina (ankle) are on injured reserve.

Potential lines and defensive pairings:

-The Penguins did not practice yesterday. Their primary lines against the Blue Jackets Saturday were:

Chris Kunitz - Sidney Crosby - Pascal Dupuis
Matt Cooke - Maxime Talbot - Arron Asham
Chris Conner - Mark Letestu - Tyler Kennedy
Mike Rupp - Craig Adams - Eric Godard

Brooks Orpik - Kris Letang
Paul Martin - Zbynek Michalek
Alex Goligoski - Deryk Engelland

-The Devils lines and defensive pairings in practice yesterday were:

Ilya Kovalchuk - Travis Zajac - Jamie Langenbrunner
Patrik Elias - Jason Arnott - Dainius Zubrus
Brian Rolston - Adam Mair - David Clarkson
Mattias Tedenby - Rod Pelley - Stephen Gionta/Alexander Vasyunov

Colin White-Henrik Tallinder
Andy Greene-Mark Fayne
Anton Volchenov-Matt Corrente
Anssi Salmela-Olivier Magnan

Notes:

-Chris Conner is bringing some big things to the Penguins.

-Martin used to be a Devil.

-Talbot has 49 career goals.

-Kunitz and Martin each have 149 career assists.

-Crosby has 346 career assists.

-Kennedy has 47 career assists.

-Comrie has 197 career assists.

-After missing seven games due to an elbow injury, Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur is expected to serve as a back up today.

-"When you face a team like that you have to be at your best or they embarrass you." - Devils captain Jamie Langenbrunner on facing the Penguins.

-Hedberg is looking forward to seeing the new arena in his old home.