The Penguins were beaten by Martin Brodeur and Ilya Kovalchuk yet again Saturday night in their fourth consecutive loss, a 3-1 defeat by the New Jersey Devils at CONSOL Energy Center.
Last Saturday, the Pens also lost 3-1 to the Devils, with Brodeur picking up 29 saves and Kovalchuk grabbing a goal and two assists. This time, Brodeur had 41 saves. Kovalchuk, meanwhile, picked up the Devils’ second goal of the game (Adam Henrique had scored a shorthanded goal a few minutes before), and assisted Dainius Zubrus’ power-play goal in the third period.
Evgeni Malkin scored the Pens’ only goal, in the first period.
As expected, Jordan Staal did not play for the Pens after suffering a knee injury in Friday night’s loss to the New York Rangers.
With the loss, the Pens fell to 21-15-4 on the season. There’s plenty of time left, of course, but they only have the seventh-most points in the Eastern Conference, with the Maple Leafs, Capitals and Jets all on their tails.
The Pens host the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday.
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