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Shea-ved Ice: Penguins Vs. Devils Preview

NEWARK, N.J. (KDKA) – After a hard-fought win in Boston on Saturday, the Pittsburgh Penguins will be right back on the ice today against a division rival.

Today's game against the New Jersey Devils will be big in terms of the standings.

Currently, the Penguins are sitting in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, just two points behind the Flyers and just three points ahead of the Devils.

A win today would put some distance between the Penguins and Devils, while putting pressure on the Flyers and Rangers at the top of the Atlantic Division.

On Saturday, Marc-Andre Fleury made 28 saves to lock down a 2-1 win over the Boston Bruins.

Goals by Evgeni Malkin and Matt Cooke were enough to get the Penguins back on the winning side of things after their eight-game winning streak was snapped earlier this week.

The win extended Fleury's personal winning streak to nine games.

Pittsburgh got some help from the Devils on Saturday. They beat the Flyers 6-4 in a game that wasn't as close as the score would suggest.

New Jersey raced out to a 6-0 lead after two periods before the Flyers took control of the third. Philadelphia scored four goals on 24 shots in the third period while limiting the Devils to just one shot.

Former Penguin Johan Hedberg was in goal and made 37 saves in the contest.

Currently, Patrik Elias (18 goals, 32 assists) leads the team in points with 50. High-priced winger Ilya Kovalchuk leads the team in goals with 21 and is only three points behind Elias.

The Penguins also can't forget about Zach Parise, who has 19 goals and 25 assists this season.

Expect to see Martin Brodeur (16-12-2, 2.77 GAA, .894 save percentage) between the pipes for the Devils this afternoon as well.

Against the Penguins, Brodeur is 44-25-1 with four ties to go along with a 2.42 GAA and a .904 save percentage. He also has nine career shutouts against the Pens.

It remains to be seen if Fleury (28-12-2, 2.25 GAA, will get the nod on consecutive days or if Brent Johnson (2-6-2, 3.20 GAA, .884 save percentage) will get back in the pipes after suffering a 1-0 loss to the Maple Leafs on Thursday.

Against the Devils, Fleury is 12-17-4 with a 2.56 GAA and a .916 save percentage. He also has three shutouts.

Johnson is 2-5-3 against the Devils with a 2.16 GAA and a .924 save percentage.

The puck is set to drop at 1 p.m. and you can watch the game on Root Sports.

You can follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sheavedice

For More Penguins Coverage Check Out Puck Talk With Popchock.

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