Pittsburgh @ New Jersey preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 22, 2019 ) New Jersey 1, Pittsburgh 4

The Pittsburgh Penguins appear to be clenching their stick even tighter amid a stressful stretch while the carefree New Jersey Devils are excelling without the pressure of competing for a postseason berth. The Penguins have lost eight of their last 10 contests heading into the opener of a three-game road trip against the Devils on Tuesday.

"We're obviously not thrilled with the position we're in over the last few weeks," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. "We all have to take ownership for it and now we have to take responsibility to pull ourselves out of it." The Penguins have plummeted from the penthouse into a precarious third-place position in the Metropolitan Division, resulting in a closed-door meeting following Sunday's 6-2 setback against Carolina. While the Devils reside in the cellar of the division, their 6-1-2 record over their last nine games is of playoff-caliber. "We want to be spoilers, and that was part of the message and motivation," New Jersey interim coach Alain Nasreddine said.

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: AT&T SportsNet-Pittsburgh, MSG-Plus

ABOUT THE PENGUINS (39-23-6): Pittsburgh didn't put its best foot forward to begin its 10-game stretch against division foes, getting outscored 11-4 in losses to Washington (Saturday) and the Hurricanes. Evgeni Malkin scored a power-play goal in a 5-2 setback to the Capitals before converting a 5-on-3 advantage the following day to extend his point streak to four games (two goals, six assists). Conor Sheary, who notched an assist in both contests to give him four points (one goal, three assists) in his last four games, tallied twice with Buffalo in a 7-1 romp over New Jersey on Dec. 2.

ABOUT THE DEVILS (28-28-12): Travis Zajac and Kyle Palmieri each ended substantial goal droughts by scoring twice in New Jersey's 6-4 victory over the New York Rangers on Saturday. Zajac has just four goals since the Christmas break, but his second of the night and 195th career passed Zach Parise for fourth place in team history -- seven shy of Bobby Holik for third place. Palmieri, who leads the team in goals (25) and points (45), had just one and two, respectively, in his previous nine games.

OVERTIME

1. New Jersey G Mackenzie Blackwood owns an 8-1-2 record in his last 11 decisions.

2. Penguins superstar captain Sidney Crosby has decimated the Devils by recording 72 points (33 goals, 39 assists) in 65 career encounters.

3. New Jersey LW Jesper Bratt has six goals and 10 points in his last 11 games.

PREDICTION: Penguins 4, Devils 2