Pittsburgh @ New Jersey preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 28, 2019 ) New Jersey 6, Pittsburgh 3

The Pittsburgh Penguins appear to have turned the corner with wins in three of their last four games to gain a tenuous hold on one of the wild-card spots in the Eastern Conference. The Penguins look to continue their good fortune and avoid the indignity of being swept in the season series by the cellar-dwelling New Jersey Devils on Tuesday when the Metropolitan Division rivals meet in Newark (N.J.).

"We can't be afraid of (the chase for the postseason). We have to get excited about it. That's the discussion that we've had. We have to embrace this thing," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said after his team leapfrogged Carolina to temporarily occupy one of the postseason spots. Sullivan will have no issue getting through to captain Sidney Crosby, who extended his point streak to five games (two goals, nine assists) after recording his third three-point performance in his last four contests with a trio of assists in Sunday's 6-5 win over the New York Rangers. The two-time Art Ross Trophy winner's latest offensive outburst pushed him over the 70-point plateau for the sixth straight season, although just two assists have come at the expense of New Jersey. The Devils, who have outscored the Penguins by a 15-6 margin, are bidding to win three consecutive contests for the first time since Dec. 27-31.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet-Pittsburgh, MSG-Plus (New Jersey), Sportsnet1, Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet East


ABOUT THE PENGUINS (31-21-7): Evgeni Malkin scored twice versus the Rangers to give the former Hart Trophy recipient at least one point in 13 of the last 14 games he's played and lift his overall total to 11 (four goals, seven assists) in his last seven. "He's such a dominant player when he's on top of his game. He's so impactful. It can't help but make your bench six inches taller," Sullivan said of Malkin. Kris Letang matched a season high by tallying twice to boost his goal total to 15, tying him for the league lead among defensemen with Toronto’s Morgan Rielly and moving him within one of his career high set in 2015-16.

ABOUT THE DEVILS (23-28-8): Cory Schneider has countered 13 months of winless hockey by turning aside 49 of 50 shots, coming on in relief in New Jersey's 5-4 overtime victory over Minnesota on Friday before going the distance two nights later in a 4-1 triumph versus Buffalo. "Hopefully this is the start of Cory Schneider of old and he can keep growing that confidence and keep playing well because he plays like he did the other night and tonight, he'll give us great chances to win," forward Kyle Palmieri said. The 28-year-old Palmieri, who leads the team in goals (26) and points (47), has scored three goals and set up four others in his last five games overall and has four points (one goal, three assists) in three encounters with Pittsburgh.

OVERTIME

1. New Jersey C Travis Zajac, who will play in his 900th NHL game on Tuesday, has three goals and four assists in three games against Pittsburgh this season.

2. Letang, who has three goals and three assists during his four-game point streak, has been held off the scoresheet and is a minus-6 in three games versus the Devils.

3. New Jersey has scored a power-play goal in five consecutive contests.

PREDICTION: Penguins 4, Devils 2