The New Jersey Devils (40-35-3, 83 points) will try to prevent the Pittsburgh Penguins (40-22-16) from making the Stanley Cup playoffs when the Metropolitan Division rivals face off at the Prudential Center on Thursday.

The Devils fell out of playoff contention with a 5-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers at the Rock on Tuesday. Still, New Jersey is 12-6-1 in their last 19 games.

The Penguins are 5-2 in their last seven games and have been dominant on offense. Pittsburgh has 36 goals in that span and has never scored fewer than three goals in any game.

Here’s what could turn out to be a high-scoring affair in Newark on Thursday.

What to Know vs Penguins

• The Devils are 1-2 against Pittsburgh this season and have gone 9-3 in their last three games.
• Devils forward Cody Glass will enter Thursday’s game on a two-game goal streak and has three goals heading into the April 4 game
• Jake Allen is 1-1 with a .921 save% and 2.40 goals against average against the Penguins this season.
• Sidney Crosby has 99 points (42 goals, 57 assists) in 91 career games against the Devils
• Erik Karlsson has 29 points in his last 21 games, the most of any NHL defenseman over that span.
• Penguins center Rickard Rakell has the NHL’s longest active point streak (eight games) and has 13 points in that span.

2025-26 vs penguins

11/8/25: SOW 2-1 Prudential Center

1/8/26: L 4-1 PPG Paints Arena

2/26/26: L 4-1 PPG Paints Arena

4/9/26: 7:00 PM ET Prudential Center

devils vs penguins

All-time record: 131-113-17-6

All-time home record: 70-49-13-3

All-time road record: 61-64-4-3

Projected Devils Lineup*

Ahead

Timo Meyer – Nico Hischier – Dawson Mercer

Jasper Bratt – Jack Hughes – Connor Brown

Lenny Haminaho – Cody Glass – Nick Bjugstad

Evgeny Dadonov – Mark McLaughlin – Brian Halonen

defenseman

Jonas Seigenthaler – Dougie Hamilton

Luke Hughes – Jonathan Kovacevic

Brendan Dillon – Simon Nemec

goalkeeper

jacob markstrom

jake allen

Projected Penguins Lineup*

Ahead

Igor Chinakov-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust

Tommy Novak – Ricard Raquel – Evgeni Malkin

Anthony Mantha – Ben Kindel – Justin Brazeau

Elmer Soderblom – Connor Dewar – Noel Acciari

defenseman

Parker Wotherspoon – Rasmus Ristolainen

Samuel Girard – Kris Letang

Ryan Shea – Connor Clifton

goalkeeper

artur silov

sergei murashov

How to watch the Devils game – (7:30 p.m. ET)

Watch: MSGN/ESPN+

radio: devils hockey net

next up

Saturday, April 11, 5:00 pm ET

Sunday, April 12 vs. OTT, 7:00 PM ET

Tuesday, April 14, BOS 7:00 PM ET

Pat Pickens is an award-winning sports writer and author who has covered the NHL since 2013. He reveals more about Pat Pickens.

The Senators have to hope they don’t miss the playoffs by a point. In tonight’s overtime, they had one great chance after another, but couldn’t find a way to beat Stuart Skinner. They then led by one goal after the first period in the shootout, but the next two Penguins shooters scored as Stützle and Pinto both missed to end the game 4–3 for the Penguins. Let’s get into the details.

Ullmark shines through Senators’ defensive struggles

This is because the Senators will have a tough time without guys like Sanderson, Chabot and Jensen in their lineup. Tonight, he gave up 38 shots, the most he has given up all season. The second period was particularly difficult, with the Sens falling 16–6. That period ended with Ullmark making some big saves to keep the game tied. He kept the Sens in this game with several great saves, including a breakaway toe save in overtime.

It’s clear that Travis Green doesn’t trust Donovan right now. He played just 9:22 tonight. Yakemchuk was used a good amount tonight, playing 17:42 minutes and once again showing himself to be a threat offensively. Nonetheless, the quartet of Kleven, Zub, Spence and Matinpalo have worked extensively. Kleven, in particular, has seen his workload increase dramatically. He played 27 minutes tonight after playing a career-high 28:11 games in the previous game. With the news that Thomas Chabot is out for the next 4-8 weeks with his arm injury, Jake Sanderson may not be back soon.

Batherson scored twice again

From a goal total perspective, here are Batherson’s last 14 games:

• 2, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 2, 0, 2, 0, 0, 0, 2, 2

He doesn’t just score one goal in a game! His two goals tonight give him 29 points on the season, a new career high. He will need five points in the final 10 games to equal his career-high of 68 points last season.

additional comments

I’ve seen Eric Carlson put on a show like Tonight many times. However, it’s not as much fun when it’s against the Senators. Karlsson is the main reason the Penguins remained in the playoffs last month. He has scored 21 points in the month of March. Only Nikita Kucherov has more than 25. Nice to see Brady Tkachuk deliver some big hits tonight. He finished the game with six hits overall, equaling his season high. After a brutal stretch in which the Senators played six games in nine days, including two back-to-back situations, the Senators finally got some rest. Like. He will be off for two days before playing in Tampa Bay against the Lightning on Saturday.

Danny was born and raised in Ottawa and still lives in that city. He has followed… more about Danny McCloskey

The attack was great, the defense was strong and the goal scoring was fantastic. It was the perfect storm.

The Carolina Hurricanes were on their game on Sunday afternoon and handed the Pittsburgh Penguins a shocking 5-1 loss. Carolina played the entire game and took advantage of Pittsburgh’s deficiencies in what appeared to be an off-game for the home team.

Heading into the 3:00 p.m. game, the Penguins topped the league standings in penalty kills with a penalty kill success rate of 84.2, but the Hurricanes’ power play (ranked 12th leaguewide) managed to crack not just once, but three times in less than 40 minutes.

Carolina’s first three goals were extremely similar in where they came from and how they reached the net. First, Sebastian Aho drew a tripping penalty on Ryan Graves by Nikolaj Ehlers just 47 seconds into the game.

A long-range wrist shot between the faceoff circle and the blue line, through a screen provided by Jordan Staal.

Next, in the second round, the man also came on advantage. Once again, through another screen at the same distance, Ehlers sent a slapshot that echoed into the back of the net.

Then, near the halfway point of the game, Jalen Chatfield slapped a layup through another screen from the same distance to put the Hurricanes up by three.

Later, the pattern ended as Ehlers sent an incredible pass through the legs of Parker Wotherspoon into the slot and onto the tape of Seth Jarvis for another power play goal. It was Jarvis’ first match back after a five-game drought.

In the third period, the Penguins finally got a goal on the board thanks to Egor Chinakhov, but the Hurricanes’ defense – and defense through offensive pressure – helped hold Frederik Andersen to a single goal allowed in the entire contest.

After a few missed attempts, including a blocked blast by Anderson towards the empty net, Mark Jankowski scored on an empty net goal to make the score 5–1.

Hurricanes successful in key areas in final game with Penguins of regular season

Throughout the game, the Hurricanes’ biggest advantage was their effective use of screens on Stuart Skinner. When it comes to those screens, it’s hard to expect a goaltender to stop what can’t be seen. They cannot use force (even though sometimes it seems they might).

Their defense was something else, as they held the Penguins without a shot for nearly 12 minutes early in the game.

Special teams were one of the biggest things for Carolina, going two-for-two on the penalty kill and three-for-five on the power play. It also didn’t hurt that the calls actually went their way for once.

And last, but certainly not least, Anderson played exceptionally well – he has improved significantly since returning from the Olympics. Despite the Penguins’ late offensive start, they still managed to put 19 shots on net. Furthermore, 15 of those were high-danger scoring chances – five more than the Hurricanes produced.

It was a great game for the Hurricanes, who took the sole lead of the Eastern Conference.

(Hey! This game was with another team covered by the national Hockey Now Network – hide behind enemy lines once again and watch Vince Comunale’s recap from the Penguins’ perspective!)

Rachel Barkley is a beat writer covering the Carolina Hurricanes for Carolina Hockey Now on SportsNote. Painting Stories…More About Rachel Barclay

After losing six of their last seven games, the Vegas Golden Knights were in desperate need of a win. Pacific Division aside, the losing streak was doing nothing for morale. Thus, Thursday’s 6-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins was exactly what the doctor ordered.

As has been the case in the past few games, the Golden Knights started strong. In the first period, they created 13 scoring chances while limiting the Penguins to six.

The Golden Knights broke the ice first at 8:41. Brett Howden forced Parker Wotherspoon into a turnover, and Colton Sissons tipped the puck over to Brayden Bowman. Bowman caught the puck, danced around Wotherspoon, and found Sissons for a back-door tap-in.

“Once we get that first [goal]That was big,” Brayden Bowman said after the game.

The Golden Knights doubled their lead just 5:02 into the second period. Pavel Dorofeyev drove the puck deep into the zone, and Tomas Hertl kept the game alive in the back of the net. Brayden Bowman blocked Pittsburgh’s first clearing attempt, and Cayden Korczak blocked the second. Korczak found Dorofeyev on the goal line, and Dorofeyev beat Artur Silovs off the gloves.

Trailing 2–0, the Penguins began to apply pressure; He came on the board at 8:26 of the second minute. Rickard Rakell got the spot over Braden McNabb; Bryan Rust received a pass for a back-door tap-in.

In recent games, the Golden Knights have struggled to stop the bleeding. They had no such problems on Thursday and responded with an own goal just 54 seconds after Raquel tallied.

The Golden Knights restored their two-goal lead at 9:20 of the second game. Mitch Marner intercepted Connor Dewar’s passing attempt, entered the zone, and executed a turnover with Pavel Dorofeyev. He received the puck above the goal crease, waited for Arturs Silovs to be out and fired it home in midair.

“He had a bit of a shock there [in the second period]Brayden Bowman said. I thought we responded well. They score, and then guys go out there and get it right back. This is a huge thing for the morale on the bench. I mean, we were up.

The Penguins cut the Golden Knights’ lead to one at 16:22 of the second minute. Ryan Shea sent a stretch-pass up the ice to Anthony Mantha, who was moving into the Vegas zone. Mantha protected the puck, deflected off Brayden Bowman and found Ben Kindel for a back-door tap-in.

The strong third period has defined the 2026 Golden Knights; Thursday was no different. Despite falling behind 11-6, they did not allow any more goals. The Golden Knights remained strong defensively and controlled 74.43% of the expected goal share.

The Golden Knights once again took a two-goal lead just 4:35 into the third minute. After a Penguins foul, Pavel Dorofeyev fouled Ville Kauvinen with the puck. Dorofeyev passed it to Mitch Marner who entered the zone. Marner returned to Dorofeyev trailing in the slot, and the winger got home his second of the night.

The Golden Knights added insult to injury at 6:20 of the third minute. Shea Theodore sent a stretch pass to Ivan Barbashev at center ice. Barbashev entered the Penguins zone, cut to the middle of the ice, and passed the puck to Jack Eichel; Eichel stepped into the slot and beat Arturs Silovs.

Despite trailing by three goals, the Penguins pulled Arturs Silovs for an extra attacker with 7:39 remaining in regulation. The Golden Knights held them to five shots on goal and Adin Hill turned them away.

Hill finished the night with 24 saves on 26 shots, a .923 save percentage and a 2.53 GSAX.

After several attempts – including Adin Hill’s bid on goal by the goalkeeper – Brayden McNabb hit the empty net with 59 seconds remaining in regulation.

Captain Mark Stone returned to the lineup after missing the previous six games due to an upper body injury.

It is no coincidence that, in their first game, the players attributed their strong performance during the 6–2 victory to the energy on the bench.

The players credited the energy on the bench for their strong performance during the 6–2 win.

“We had some good energy tonight,” Braden Bowman said after the game. “I think that’s important when we’re playing our best. We’ve got good energy on the bench, and I think that carries over onto the ice.”

Hannah Kirkel is a beat writer who covers the Vegas Golden Knights for Vegas Hockey Now on SportsNote. She studied more about Hannah Kirkel

On Thursday, the Vegas Golden Knights (29-22-14) begin a four-game homestand. They have lost six of their last seven games and are trying to right the ship and regain control of the Pacific Division. They will host the Pittsburgh Penguins (32-17-15) at T-Mobile Arena.

Puck drop is scheduled for 7:08pm PST.

The Golden Knights played their last match on Tuesday against the Dallas Stars. Despite a strong start, they struggled to maintain offensive pressure and lost 2–1.

The Penguins played their last game on Tuesday against the Carolina Hurricanes. They made a strong comeback with two goals in the third period, but lost 5–4 in the shootout.

Adin Hill started in goal for the Golden Knights. Hill has a 1-2-2 record and an average save percentage of .909 in five career games against the Penguins.

Arturs Silovs started in goal for the Penguins. Sillove’s record is 2-0-0 and his average save percentage in two career games against the Golden Knights is .933.

Mark Stone, who has missed the last six games due to an upper body injury, participated in the line rush at Thursday’s morning skate. However, he did so in a red non-contact jersey.

Golden Nights Lines

Ivan Barbashev – Jack Eichel – Mark Stone*
Pavel Dorofyev – Tomas Hertel – Mitch Marner
Brett Howden – Colton Sissons – Brayden Bowman
Cole Smith – Nick Dowd – Keegan Kolesar

*Red non-contact jersey

protect

Brayden McNabb – Shea Theodore
Noah Hanifin – Rasmus Andersen
Jeremy Lauzon – Cayden Korczak

Goaltender: Adin Hill/Akira Schmidt

penguin lines

Igor Chinakhov – Ricard Raquel – Brian Rust
Anthony Mantha – Tommy Novak – Ville Koivunen
Elmer Soderblom – Ben Kindel – Avery Hayes
Connor Dewar – Blake Lizette – Noel Acciari

protect

Parker Wotherspoon- Eric Carlson
Ryan Shea – Kris Letang
Ilya Solovyov – Connor Clifton

Goaltender: Arthur Shilov / Stuart Skinner

special teams

VGK power play: 25.4%, 3rd
VGK Penalty Kill: 81.5%, 7th

Penguins power play: 25.1%, T5th
Penguins penalty kill: 84.3%, second

golden knights game notes

The Golden Knights lost their first game this season to the Penguins, and their performance was quite miserable. His all-time score against the Penguins is 6-8-1.

Jack Eichel is on a three-game point streak (2-1-3).

Eichel leads the Golden Knights in scoring with 23 goals and 72 points in 57 games this season. He has nine goals and 17 points in 20 career games against the Penguins.

We’re on Milestone Watch! Colton Sissons is one goal away from 100 in his career.

The Golden Knights have a 14–10–7 record at Fortress this season; The Penguins are 16-8-7 on the road.

how to see

TV: Vegas 34
Streaming: Nighttime+
Radio: Fox Sports Las Vegas 94.7/1340

Hannah Kirkel is a beat writer who covers the Vegas Golden Knights for Vegas Hockey Now on SportsNote. She studied more about Hannah Kirkel

The Carolina Hurricanes won…somehow…and Alexander Nikishin almost completed Gordie Howe’s hat trick.

Facing the Pittsburgh Penguins for the first of three meetings in March, the Hurricanes were nearly overpowered by a lack of discipline and some honestly questionable calls in the game, which certainly created some playoff-style energy.

Logan Stankoven opened the match with a goal eight minutes into the match, but Nikolaj Ehlers was injured shortly after in a tangle with Erik Karlsson in the corner boards. Thankfully, he returned at the beginning of the second frame and played the rest of the game.

Less than 20 seconds after Ehlers’ injury, Anthony Mantha tied the game with less than a minute remaining in the first period.

As the second period began, so did the onslaught of penalties.

The Hurricanes spent eight minutes in the box, six of which were in favor of the Penguins. The third penalty – drawn when William Carrier closed his hands on the puck – resulted in a power play goal by Bryan Rust, giving Pittsburgh the lead.

However, the fourth penalty was taken by Alexander Nikishin, who also drew a penalty on Noel Acciari after he pulled the Penguins winger into a duel while his teams dunked it in the melee. However, this resulted in equally harsh punishments as they more or less stuck to each other.

Eric Robinson tried to stuff the puck and it led to a nice scrum
Alexander Nikishin tried to go at it with Noel Acciari, but it didn’t lead to a full fight, just a little skirmish
Divisional rivalry, playoff style hockey is already heating up and I’m here for it… pic.twitter.com/RsqZwFjOFN

– Queen of the Puck (@rbarkleyhockey) 11 March 2026

Things got wild in the third period

In the third period, the Hurricanes finally got control of their game and kept a clean frame, with Mark Jankowski tying the game and Seth Jarvis giving them the go-ahead goal.

This time, the Penguins kept the penalty box bench hot, and even gave the Hurricanes a pair of two-man advantages.

Nikishin was able to convert a very well executed back-and-forth play to tie the special teams goals and give the Hurricanes a two-goal lead. If the feud with Accieri had been more than any foul, Nikishin would have got a Gordie Howe hat-trick. This wouldn’t be the first time he’s gotten close to someone this season, and I’d be surprised if it’s the last.

However, with more than two minutes left in the game, the arena DJ saw fit to play the Hurricanes’ celebration song, ‘Sweet Caroline’, which is usually played in the final seconds of a sure-win game.

And can you guess what happened? Acciari and Rust tied the game while Stuart Skinner hit the bench.

And then came overtime

Overtime began, which saw Jakob Slavin enter the penalty box after barely a slash on the stick of Anthony Mantha. However, that apparently wasn’t an issue as Mantha then beat goaltender Frederik Andersen.

Despite some back-and-forth attempts, no goal could be scored after which a shootout took place.

Seth Jarvis, Andrei Svechnikov and Jackson Blake went for the Hurricanes, while Ben Kindel, Egor Chinakhov and Anthony Mantha did so for the Penguins. Svechnikov and Blake were both able to find the twine, but Kindel was the only penguin to have such luck.

The Hurricanes won the game 5–4, but would see them again the following Wednesday.

Frederik Andersen had a little help distracting him straight from the Mushroom Kingdom in the shootout 🤣 pic.twitter.com/Bs6860KPVy

– Queen of the Puck (@rbarkleyhockey) 11 March 2026

Special teams performed well

Going into the game, the Hurricanes were at a notable disadvantage, as they ranked 11th on the power play (22.5%) and 14th on the penalty kill (79.4%), while the Penguins ranked sixth on the power play (25.3%) and second on the penalty kill (84.4%). Additionally, they were without their usual power play quarterback Shayne Gostisbeer, who missed his second consecutive game due to a lower body injury.

Still, he had four notable runs shorthanded, and killed four of five penalties while scoring on one of five power plays.

Rachel Barkley is a beat writer covering the Carolina Hurricanes for Carolina Hockey Now on SportsNote. Painting Stories…More About Rachel Barclay

It’s one thing to lose a game; It’s an absolute disaster to lose to a team that is so inferior on paper. The Vegas Golden Knights did just that in a 5-0 loss to the Sidney Crosby-less Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday afternoon.

And to make matters worse, they lost their captain in the process.

In the first round, there was no sign of the coming blow. The Golden Knights got off to a timely start, recording the first four shots on goal and dictating the game in the first five minutes of the game. And then, the Penguins found their footing and essentially forced the Golden Knights into submission.

The Penguins broke the ice first at 14:56. Anthony Mantha won the board battle against Keegan Kolesar, and Ben Kindel controlled the puck and drove into the zone. Kindall cut to the middle of the ice, stepped into the slot, and ripped a sneaky wrister through to Rasmus Andersen that beat Adin Hill on the blocker.

Despite trailing by just one goal, the Golden Knights entered the first intermission with a storm cloud hanging over their heads. At the end of the period, Mark Stone took a cross-check from Kris Letang and immediately went down the tunnel. Stone did not return to start the second period and was quickly ruled out for the remainder of the game.

The Penguins doubled their lead as their power play ended 5:47 into the second period. Justin Brazeau found Egor Chinakhov all alone in the right circle, and the winger fired a shot past Adin Hill short-side.

At 9:34 of the second game the Penguins struck again on the power play. Jeremy Lauzon knocked down Erik Karlsson’s shot from the point, but he couldn’t stop Bryan Rust from banging in the rebound.

The Penguins increased their lead on the power play at 15:06 of the second minute. Erik Karlsson single-handedly hit Ricard Raquel in front of the net and Raquel buried his own counterattack.

This season, the Golden Knights have been known for their dramatic comebacks. That was not the case today. They created nine high-danger scoring chances in the third period, but could not beat Arturs Silovs.

The Penguins added insult to injury at 14:59 of the third period. Kris Letang stripped Jack Eichel of the puck and found Ben Kindel on a fly through the neutral zone. Kindle entered the zone and released the puck to Justin Brazeau, who fired a shot past Adin Hill.

Arturs Silovs secured the shutout for the Penguins and the Golden Knights lost 5–0.

After Sunday’s regulation loss, the Golden Knights still lead the Pacific Division with 70 points and a 28-18-14 record. The Anaheim Ducks are on top with 67 points, and have two games in hand.

However, the division standings are far from the Golden Knights’ biggest concern right now. Instead, that honor goes to Mark Stone’s injury situation. Despite already missing 17 games this season, Stone is second on the team in scoring with 21 goals and 60 points in 43 games.

The Golden Knights live and die by their captain. He’s not just a dominant player – he’s the emotional leader in the locker room. If he misses any time, the Golden Knights will feel that loss deeply.

Hannah Kirkel is a beat writer who covers the Vegas Golden Knights for Vegas Hockey Now on SportsNote. She studied more about Hannah Kirkel

The highlight of the night for the New Jersey Devils at PPG Paints Arena was when the Pittsburgh Penguins faithful gave golden goalscorer Jack Hughes a standing ovation to solidify Team USA’s victory at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Then again, it was penguins all night.

Fork is found in the kitchen. In other words, the Devils gave up the game’s first goal – once again – to the Penguins in the first period.

Late in the opening frame, Arseniy Gritsyuk was charged a minor penalty or fouled Penguins defenseman, Parker Wotherspoon, and the Penguins went on the power play.

About a minute into the man advantage for Pittsburgh, Kris Letang’s blast was redirected by Tommy Novak, giving the Penguins a 1–0 lead.

It was a slow first period for the Devils, who ended the period with a 9-6 shot differential deficit.

However, the second season started much better. In a similar manner to how Novak scored – albeit at power – Hughes fed Dougie Hamilton at the Penguins blueline for a one-time blast.

Paul Cotter redirected a Hamilton shot and tied the game at one.

Dan Muse and the Penguins challenged the Devils goal for goaltender interference. Still, the challenge went New Jersey’s way, which put a goal on the board and sent the Devils to the power play.

Still, the Devils failed to convert the man advantage and three additional power plays gained in the second period.

It was all Penguins in the third period as they regained the lead after quickly taking control of the game.

At 6:30 of the final frame, Ryan Shea’s rocket from the left circle hit the cross bar and bounced off Connor Clifton at the opposite point. When the puck came to him the veteran defenseman did not hesitate, wound up and scored to give the Penguins a 2–1 lead.

50 seconds later, Yegor Chinakhov caught the Devils napping. He slipped behind the Devils defense and Evgeni Malkin fed him for a half-breakaway and Chinakhov scored to put the Penguins ahead by two goals, making the game 3–1.

The Devils pulled Markstrom with less than four minutes to play and after the man advantage, Clifton had the puck taken out of play and sat for delay of game.

Blake Lizotte hit an empty net to seal the Devils’ 29th loss of the season and fifth consecutive.

Jacob Markstrom’s strong start wasted. The Swiss goaltender brought a little Olympic swag back with him. Still, they surrendered three goals on 33 shots they faced.

James is the fully certified New Jersey Devils beat reporter for New Jersey Hockey Now on SportsNote and … More about James Nicholls