The Pittsburgh Penguins are one win away from clinching a playoff spot and the New Jersey Devils will look to spoil the postseason party. The puck drops on Thursday night at 7 p.m. EST.

The Penguins are 40-22-16 and second in the Metropolitan Division. They have a four-point lead on the second-place spot and a six-point lead away from being outside of the playoff picture. Pittsburgh just beat the Florida Panthers at home 5-2. They scored in every period and after one period of play, led 3-1. The Penguins were outshot 31-23, outhit 28-7, and lost in face-offs 29-21. The power play was 1-for-7 and the penalty kill was 5-for-6 on stops. Rickard Rakell was the first star with two goals.

The Devils are 40-35-3 and seventh in the Metropolitan Division. They are already eliminated from the postseason picture, but will still try to finish the season strong. New Jersey just lost to the Philadelphia Flyers at home 5-1. Just a few minutes into the game, the Devils were down 2-0, but they did get on the board halfway through the period. In the second, New Jersey gave up two quick goals again and couldn't bounce back. The Devils outshot the Flyers 24-20 and outhit them 17-15, but lost in face-offs 27-20. The power play was 0-for-3 and the penalty kill was 1-for-2 on stops. New Jersey had some good scoring chances blocked and gave the puck away a lot.

Spread

Money line

Total

Note: The above data was collected on April 9, 2026, and may have changed since writing.

Pittsburgh Penguins

New Jersey Devils

Pittsburgh is second in scoring, tied for 20th in goals against, sixth on the power play, and eighth on the penalty kill. Sidney Crosby leads the team in points. The Penguins are 20-10-8 on the road and 6-4 in their last 10 games. They have won two games in a row, both against the Panthers. The Pittsburgh offense has won four of its last five games and in the victories, the offense has scored five or more goals. In two of those games, the Penguins scored eight or more goals. This team is playing with a lot of confidence and is ready for the postseason.

New Jersey is 27th in scoring, 16th in goals against, 13th on the power play, and 16th on the penalty kill. Jack Hughes leads the team in points. The Devils are 20-16-3 at home and 5-4-1 in their last 10 games. This team has been in a win-loss mode for two weeks and the pattern has been either a multi-goal win or a multi-goal loss. One game could be a 3-0 win and the next is a 5-1 loss. Both sides of the puck are all over the place, but the Devils are finding ways to bounce back after a bad loss.

Best Bet: Over

The Penguins' offense is going off right now and they want to clinch that playoff spot, so maybe they can rest some starters for a few games. The Devils are looking to bounce back from a one-goal effort and try to match the Pittsburgh compete level.