PITTSBURGH -- For the last two days, Devils coach John Hynes has harped on two things: learning and intensity.
Hynes said the Devils didn't have enough intensity in back-to-back losses to the Ducks and Sharks, which saw them lose by a combined 10-4 margin. But now, with the Devils clinging to a one-point lead over the Panthers for the second Wild Card spot, comes the most important part.
What do the Devils do next?
"I think there’s a lot of things that our team can gather from these two games to make us a better team," Hynes said after the Devils lost the Sharks in San Jose." The intensity level now has risen again to a different level and we haven’t -- the last two games we haven’t matched that. All year long we’ve learned quick. We’ve learned quick, we’ve had an opportunity to get better and now we’ve got to take the two lessons we took, the two beatings we took the last two games and we’ve got to be a better team and a different team against Pittsburgh.
The task isn't easy against the Penguins, obviously. But no matter what happens in Pittsburgh, we're about to learn a lot about the Devils. We'll update live at the bottom of this post throughout the game. .
Here are tonight's lines
Devils
Taylor Hall-Nico Hirschier-Jesper Bratt
Michael Grabner-Pavel Zacha-Kyle Palmieri
Brian Gibbons-Travis Zajac-Drew Stafford
Patrick Maroon-Brian Boyle-Blake Coleman
Andy Greene-Sami Vatanen
John Moore-Damon Severson
Will Butcher-Ben Lovejoy
Keith Kinkaid
Penguins
Jake Guentzel-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust
Carl Hagelin-Evgeni Malkin-Patric Hornqvist
Conor Sheary-Derick Brassard-Phil Kessel
Tom Kuhnhackl-Riley Sheahan-Dominik Simon
Brian Dumoulin-Kris Letang
Jamie Oleksiak-Justin Schultz
Olli Maatta-Chad Ruhwedel
Matt Murray
First period
Well, the Devils have not gotten off to a good start here at PPG Paints Arena. Keith Kinkaid made a save with his left blocker. But the rebound went directly to ... Sidney Crosby. You know what happened next. Crosby scored easily to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead over the Devils with 17:29 left in the first. ... Taylor Hall just had a brilliant scoring opportunity. Hall forced a turnover and had a partial breakaway, giving him a good shot from the front of the left circle. But Matt Moore turned away the shot and the Devils remain down a goal. ... The Devils started the game being outshot 11-3. Not exactly the intensity Hynes was looking for. ... Kinkaid just made two big saves as we near the end of the opening period. He stopped Derick Brassard's shot on an odd-man rush. Then he turned away a Conor Sheary slap shot after Pittsburgh collected the rebound. It's been a good start for Kinkaid, even with the early goal. ... The Devils gathered some momentum late in the period. They've outshot the Penguins 9-4 in the second half of the period. But Drew Stafford takes a penalty for tripping with 35 seconds left. The Devils will have a 1:25 penalty to kill to start the second.
Second period
The Penguins nearly made this a two-goal game. Crosby drew Kinkaid way out of position as he rushed the net with the puck, but Jamie Oleksiak missed his shot after getting the pass from Crosby. The Devils dodged a bullet there. And now they'll have an opportunity to get back in the game. Pittsburgh's Bryan Rust is headed to the box for a tripping penalty. And the Devils capitalize. Will Butcher ripped a shot past Matt Murray with 14:45 left in the second period. A huge goal for the Devils, who tie it up a 1 in this pivotal game. ... And Blake Coleman gives the Devils the lead with one of the best goals you will ever see. He could only get one hand on the stick and was falling down, but he somehow flipped it over Murray with his off hand. Incredible. So incredible that Penguins fans gasped when they saw the replay. That'll be on the highlight shows tonight, folks. This happened right after the Devils nearly gave up a goal on the other end. A huge moment ... There was a super strange sequence -- the Pens shot it into an empty net but it was no goal because of offsetting penalties, much to the dismay of the crowd. And on the 4-on-4 the Devils score again. Incredible. Nico Hirschier with his 17th goal of the season. An assist from Taylor Hall which gives him 80 points for the season. The Devils have scored three goals in less than four minutes and are now in commad. ...