The Pittsburgh Penguins will play the New Jersey Devils at PPG Paints Arena on January 8, with the game starting at 7 PM. The match will be broadcast on SportsNet Pittsburgh and available for listening on 105.9 The X and the Penguins app.
The Penguins will hold their annual Italian Heritage Night during this home game. Attendees can purchase Italian-themed food such as Caliente Pizza & Draft House Pep-Tastic Rolls, chicken parmesan sandwiches, meatballs, and a hot Italian sandwich at the Fifth Ave Food Hall behind Section 116. Italian-themed merchandise will also be available at PensGear.
Pittsburgh currently holds a record of 20-12-9 while New Jersey stands at 22-19-2. The Penguins have gained points in 15 of their last 23 games against the Devils (11-8-4) since March 2021 and have earned points in seven of their last twelve home games versus New Jersey (5-5-2). They have also won three consecutive home games; another win would mark their first four-game home winning streak this season.
Several player milestones are noted ahead of the game:
Bryan Rust has accumulated 34 points (18 goals, 16 assists) in 41 career games against New Jersey, his highest total against any team. He has recorded points in six of his last nine games facing the Devils.
The Penguins rank third in NHL power-play percentage at 29.7%. Antony Mantha has registered fourteen points in twenty-two career games against New Jersey.
Sidney Crosby’s twenty-four goals this season are tied for sixth most in the league among Eastern Conference players, just behind Boston’s Morgan Geekie with twenty-five goals.
Blake Lizotte has contributed to Pittsburgh earning points in twenty-five out of thirty-two games he has played this season (record: 19-7-6).
Since Christmas Day, Pittsburgh is undefeated with a five-game winning streak and ranks near the top of several league statistical categories.
Sidney Crosby recently became the first NHL player to reach fifty career overtime points after scoring an overtime goal Sunday. It was also his twenty-fifth career overtime goal—second-most all-time behind Alex Ovechkin’s twenty-seven. Erik Karlsson assisted on Crosby’s goal and now leads all defensemen with forty-two career overtime points, ranking sixth overall in NHL history. Four current Penguins are among the top ten players for career overtime points.
Last Thursday, Kris Letang played his 1,200th NHL game, making him one of only forty defensemen to do so and just the third active blueliner to reach that milestone. After playing Sunday’s game—his 1,202nd—Letang is now one appearance away from surpassing Larry Robinson for sixth-most games played by a defenseman with one franchise.
Crosby enters tonight’s matchup riding a seven-game point streak (five goals, seven assists). A point tonight would give him both his longest such run this season and his first eight-game point streak since early March 2013.
With a goal and assist on Sunday in Columbus, Crosby extended his active point streak to seven games (five goals, seven assists) over that span and needs one more assist to tie Wayne Gretzky for second-most assists with one franchise in NHL history.
Defenseman Connor Clifton is set to play his four-hundredth regular-season NHL game if he appears tomorrow night; he was drafted by Arizona in the fifth round of the 2013 draft and is aiming to become only the thirty-ninth member of that class to hit this milestone. Clifton ranks third among Penguins players for hits despite having appeared in only fifteen games this season.
Bryan Rust brings a seven-game home point streak into Tuesday’s contest (four goals, seven assists), trailing only Sidney Crosby for home production among teammates this year. Erik Karlsson carries an eight-game home point streak (two goals, ten assists), tied for fourth-longest active run league-wide.
Against New Jersey specifically, Crosby leads all active skaters with ninety-seven points (forty-two goals, fifty-five assists) over ninety meetings; Evgeni Malkin ranks third among actives for scoring versus New Jersey as well. Among defensemen facing New Jersey today, Karlsson is second all-time among actives with thirty-one points while Letang sits third with twenty-nine.
Malkin also needs just one assist to pass Bryan Trottier for tenth-most assists by a player with a single team in NHL history.
The Pittsburgh Penguins, established as an NHL team since 1967 and based out of PPG Paints Arena downtown Pittsburgh, have achieved multiple Stanley Cup victories along with consistent playoff appearances throughout their history. The organization is known for community initiatives supporting youth development as well as maintaining strong fan traditions locally and beyond through official platforms offering tickets and merchandise.
