NEWARK, N.J. -- Hey, anyone remember these guys?
No kidding, but the Penguins somehow went through nearly two-thirds of their schedule without playing the Devils, a Metropolitan Division rival, until this meeting tonight at the Prudential Center. They'll remedy that, though, with three more after this one, including twice in the season's potentially pivotal final eight games.
Three keys to victory:
1. Tire out Taylor Hall.
John Hynes isn't exactly hiding how often he hopes to deploy his most dynamic player. In the 4-3 victory Thursday night over the Flyers, the Devils' coach dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen with the intent of double-shifting Hall, which he did for a total ice time of 20:17.
This is happening partly because Marcus Johansson is out with a concussion -- he won't play tonight, either -- but also because, hey, Hall's really that much better than everyone else on the roster. His 18 goals are four more than anyone else, his 50 points are 19 more than anyone else, and his 164 shots are 49 more than anyone else. And it's not like he's cooling off, with at least one goal in five of New Jersey's past eight games.
Mike Sullivan isn't huge on matchups, particularly on the road where the home coach has the final change. But look for the Penguins to try to have Riley Sheahan or Carter Rowney on the ice against Hall as much as possible.
Oh, and one other guy.
"I wouldn't be surprised if Tanger's out there a ton against him," Ian Cole was telling me, referring to Kris Letang, after the Penguins' 7-4 victory over the Capitals on Friday night at PPG Paints Arena. "He's a great player ... a special player ... so strong on his skates and shifty ... we're going to have to be aware of him at all times, no question."
2. Mind the children.
Ray Shero's trade for Hall was a heist, but he's done more than that to build the Devils into one of the surprise teams of the season. Chief among them was investing the No. 1 overall selection in the NHL Draft -- no, he didn't deal it away! -- into Nico Hischier, a center out of Switzerland who's already making an impact with nine goals and 22 assists in his first 50 games.
The most recent goal came Thursday with this fine tip-in with 1:27 remaining to beat the Flyers:
Hischier, 18, is tied for second on the team in scoring with Jesper Bratt, a 19-year-old left winger with 12 goals and 19 assists. That'll represent a whole lot of fresh -- and rested legs -- for the Penguins to chase around in the second half of back-to-backs.
3. Shoot on this dude.
Cory Schneider's been out for two weeks because of a groin injury, which means career backup Keith Kinkaid will make a third consecutive start, his 15th of the season. Kinkaid has fared well in spurts over his five NHL seasons, including against the Penguins, but he's come about this season's .896 save percentage honestly. For his career, that figure is .906.
The Penguins can be maddeningly prone to take it easy on lesser goaltenders, continuing to work for perfect plays. Especially coming so soon after another game, they'll need to let the puck do more of their work for them.
The promotion of Zach Aston-Reese, a reckless bull in that regard, can't be coincidentally timed.
Oh, and crash the net. No Patric Hornqvist means others need to be on call.
Here's today's live file.
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