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Linescores do not get a whole lot uglier than the Penguins' numbers against New Jersey this season.
They are 0-5 against the Devils and have been outscored, 17-3, including two shutouts for goaltender Martin Brodeur, who has stopped 161 of 164 shots in the five games.
The Penguins would like to emerge from the shadow of that with a checkmark on their side of the ledger as they head into the sixth and final meeting with the Devils tonight in Newark, N.J.
"I think it's really important," winger Chris Kunitz said Tuesday after practice at Southpointe. "It gives you that belief that, even though they have one of the best goalies in the game, you can beat them."
• Game: Penguins at New Jersey Devils, 7:08 p.m. today, Prudential Center, Newark, N.J.
• TV, radio: FSN Pittsburgh, WXDX-FM (105.9).
• Probable goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury for Penguins. Martin Brodeur for Devils.
• Penguins: Are 5-1-1 since Olympic break. ... Sidney Crosby was tied for eighth in league with 17.8 shooting percent through Tuesday. ... Crosby has nine-game points streak. Pascal Dupuis five-game points streak.
• Devils: Have won four home games in row by combined 17-8. ... Brodeur leads NHL with 38 wins going into Tuesday night. ... Among NHL leaders with five short-handed goals at home.
• Of note: In 3-2 win against Boston Monday, Brodeur got his third assist of season, 34th of career.
The 2009-10 series began Oct. 24 with the season in its infancy. The bookend to that comes less than a month from the start of the playoffs, and more than a series shutout is at stake.
With 87 points, the Penguins lead the Atlantic Division by two points over second-place New Jersey. The Devils have the head-to-head tiebreaker and have a game in hand, but the Penguins can nullify that extra game with a win for a four-point differential going into their final 12 games.
"These are very crucial points for us if we want to clinch that division title," Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury said.
If the Penguins had earned even a few points in their first five games against New Jersey, they would be a lot closer to sewing up that division title and, with it, home-ice advantage for the playoffs.
Each team is 12-7-1 within the Atlantic Division. The Penguins are 12-2-1 against everyone but the Devils; New Jersey is 7-7-1 against everyone but the Penguins.
The Penguins swear they have not developed a mental block where the Devils are concerned. "It's tough," said center and captain Sidney Crosby, who has one goal against the Devils, along with defenseman Alex Goligoski and winger Ruslan Fedotenko. "Obviously, you want to win. They've proven that they've had the better record. But, no, they're not in our head.
"It doesn't matter, the fact that we've lost a bunch against them in the past ... because this is the biggest game of them all. This is the one we need badly."
New Jersey plays a stifling style in front of Brodeur. That's nothing new. This season, though, the Devils have been particularly effective at clogging the neutral zone, getting defensemen deep to clear the Penguins' dump-ins and stationing players near their goal to sweep away the few rebounds Brodeur yields.
"We've allowed them to dictate the way the game's played, and that's something that we intend on changing," winger Matt Cooke said. "We know that they play a frustrating style of game. We know they want to slow the game down. We want to force them to play at our pace."
Although the Penguins came home for a little more than 36 hours and got in a practice, this is the fourth game of five in a row on the road in the space of eight days. The second stop was New Jersey, a 2-1 loss.
The stretch concludes Thursday with what not only is the second of back-to-back games in two cities, but also could be a highly emotional rematch with Boston.
Cooke has taken heat over his hit on the Bruins' Marc Savard in a March 7 Penguins win at Mellon Arena, and the NHL has taken even more heat for not suspending Cooke. Savard has a Grade 2 concussion and might not play again this season.
PDFThat won't be a distraction tonight, Kunitz promised.
"I think everyone is professional enough to know that our biggest game is against Jersey," he said. "We have to put all our effort and energy and focus into that game. It's for the division lead, maybe [for seeding] from second into fourth almost into fifth. For home ice [in the playoffs], it's one of the most important games.
"I can't imagine too many guys looking past that game."
The Penguins have made it to the Stanley Cup final the past two seasons without facing the Devils in a playoff series. There is always the chance the Penguins will meet New Jersey in the postseason this year, although likely not in an early round.
That could be another reason the Penguins would get a boost from taking at least one game against New Jersey in the regular season.
"If we do see them in the playoffs, it won't be a huge deal if we win or lose this game as long as we're playing the right way," Penguins center Jordan Staal said. "But I think it would be great to leave a really good impression on the team if we match up well against them [tonight]. Then, they might be little more nervous than they are now."
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