Devils vs. Penguins Preview: 3 Things to Watch

The New Jersey Devils have had the Pittsburgh Penguins' number lately and may be catching them in a favorable spot.

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It's the final two weeks of the regular season. The playoffs are likely out of reach for the New Jersey Devils, but there's still plenty to play for. It starts tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins, whose number the Devils have had over the last two seasons. Here are three things to watch. 

High-Event Hockey Likely

The Devils defeated the Penguins 5-2 just a couple of weeks ago, their seventh win in a row against Pittsburgh. It was a high-event game, and I expect tonight's tilt at the Prudential Center to be the same. 

Despite the Penguins being out of a playoff spot, they have been playing decent hockey lately. They beat the New York Rangers 5-2 last night at Madison Square Garden and are 5-3-2 across their previous ten games.

The Penguins have been decent at five-on-five, as they have a 51.28 expected goals share (xG%) across their last ten games and are averaging 2.79 expected goals per 60 minutes. They're also giving quite a bit of it back, allowing 2.69 expected goals per 60 minutes. 

Those are pretty similar high-event numbers to the Devils, who are generating 2.86 expected goals per 60 over their last ten games but are allowing 2.9 expected goals per 60. I imagine there'll be quite a few chances going each way, similar to the two teams' matchup a couple of weeks ago. 

The good news for the Devils is that Jonas Siegenthaler may return to the lineup tonight; sending Santeri Hatakka back to the Utica Comets seems to be a good indication. Siegenthaler has struggled this season, but he's still an upgrade over some of the defensemen they've been using in recent weeks and could possibly help suppress the Penguins' attack. 

It also appears a bit of a flu bug is going around the Penguins, so catching them on the second half of a back-to-back could help the Devils. Still, I expect plenty of back-and-forth between the two teams. 

Attack the Joseph & Letang Pair