Tonight will feature the debuts a number of players in new jerseys for both teams. The biggest addition for the Penguins will be their new third line center, Derick Brassard. He joined the team for an optional morning skate today for the first time. Despite the skate being optional Brassard said he expects to play with Phil Kessel and Conor Sheary tonight.

The Devils also have a couple of new players. Michael Grabner, who was tied to the Penguins in rumors, will play his first game against Pittsburgh in his new jersey this evening. This completes the trifecta of playing for all the tristate area teams (NYI, NYR, NJD).

Patrick Maroon came over after Peter Chiarelli sold low on him during the final ten minutes of the deadline. Maroon has done a nice job in Edmonton for his price point and should help the Devils.

I understand the Devils wanting to send a message to Taylor Hall that they are serious about winning. However, even with the perceived importance of that message I still don’t know why they are in the rental market given where they are as a franchise. When you look at second and third round picks in a bubble it doesn’t seem like a big deal. However, Shero has a history of spending futures on rentals and it was something that played a role in losing his job in Pittsburgh. It’s also worth noting that Shero found success in those later rounds towards the end of his tenure in Pittsburgh. It’s just that those players weren’t ready to contribute by the time he was fired. Some of those names drafted in the second round or later were Matt Murray, Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust, and Tristan Jarry. To a lesser extent Scott Wilson, Tom Kuhnhackl, Josh Archibald, Robert Bortuzzo and Oskar Sundqvist. Jake Muzzin is in there too even though the team didn’t reap the benefits of that selection.


Neither team’s starting goalie will be in action tonight. Cory Schneider will be joining the Devils when they take on the Panthers in their next game and Matt Murray was diagnosed with a concussion today. Yep, another concussion for Matt Murray. This time it was the result of a high shot to the head in practice. I can’t believe Craig Adams got by security again. Casey DeSmith will be starting in Murray’s absence tonight.

Let’s talk about the standings. The good news is that the Penguins are finally even in games played with some of their divisional opponents. The bad news is that the Philadelphia Flyers are in first place. How did that happen? After their ten game losing streak they’ve been on fire and have one of the best records in the league, if not the best. Pittsburgh is two points behind the Flyers and have more regulation wins so a win tonight may propel the Penguins back into first place depending on what the Capitals do (they are one point ahead of Pittsburgh).

Should be fun to watch the Penguins center depth tonight.

Thanks for reading!

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