Devils Edge Penguins in Shootout, Expose Pittsburgh’s Late-Game Collapse

On Saturday night at the Prudential Center, the New Jersey Devils extended their flawless home record to 7-0-0 by edging the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 in a shootout. Goaltender Jake Allen made 33 saves as New Jersey improved to 11-4-0 overall and 7-0-0 on home ice. The Devils are now one victory away from tying their franchise record for most consecutive home wins to start a season, set during the 1987–88 campaign.

Rookie forward Arseny Gritsyuk opened the scoring at 19:12 of the first period. The 22-year-old intercepted an attempted backhand pass by Penguins defenseman Kris Letang in the slot and snapped a shot past goaltender Arturs Silovs for his third goal of the season. The Devils were outshot 12–6 in the opening frame, but Allen was sharp, including a glove save on a Ville Koivunen chance from the slot at 9:42.

“In this league, it’s hard to have your best every night, so I think that’s what good teams do — find ways to get through games when you’re not at your best, or maybe the puck’s not staying on your stick,” Allen said after the win. “Pittsburgh has a really good team and they put us on our heels at times. But we didn’t break.”

Pittsburgh evened the score at 12:33 of the second period when former Devil Ryan Graves recorded his first goal of the season. Graves’ shot from the left point deflected off New Jersey forward Ondrej Palat’s helmet and beat Allen through traffic. Sidney Crosby collected an assist, extending his point streak to four games with five points over that stretch.

“We can’t accept just getting one [goal], but sometimes the game’s going to dictate that,” Crosby said. “Sometimes it’s not going to go your way, [but] we’ve just got to continue to play the right way. I thought we did that. We didn’t try to cheat for offense. We had some good looks, [but] unfortunately they didn’t go in.”

The Penguins continued to generate pressure as the period went on. Anthony Mantha missed the net on a breakaway after a Devils turnover, and Pittsburgh kept New Jersey pinned in its zone for an extended shift midway through the period. Silovs also made several strong stops, including a glove save on a close-range wrist shot from Jack Hughes at 19:11.

Graves’ goal sent the game into a tight third period and then overtime, but neither team managed to break the deadlock. In the shootout, New Jersey’s Paul Cotter and Jesper Bratt scored on their attempts. Allen denied Bryan Rust and then stopped Crosby’s final effort to secure the win. “It’s tough with Sid because he always takes the same route every time but has a million different moves he can do,” Allen explained. “He comes so slow, so he gives himself time to maneuver and sort of makes you wait. He’s got so many options and when you lose your speed like that, it’s a little bit hard to move. But luckily, I got a pad on it.”

The win also extended Allen’s season-opening home streak to five games, matching Chris Terreri’s mark from 1990–91 for the fourth-longest in franchise history. Alain Chevrier set the record with ten straight wins in 1987–88.

Following the game, head coach Sheldon Keefe said the team has worked hard to improve its play at home this season after finishing 19-17-5 at Prudential Center in 2023–24. “You want to win games at home, and I think last year we had some real struggles getting our game going and finding consistency in this building,” Keefe said. “It’s something that we talked about in training camp and preseason. It was great in the third period; when we need a little more juice, I thought our fans were great.”

Devils defenseman Brenden Dillon contributed five blocked shots and four hits and also fought Anthony Mantha in the first period. “We’re 1-1 and we probably don’t have our best by how the first 40 [minutes] went,” Dillon said. “I think it’s a maturity step for us to be able to find a way to get points out of that. [Allen] played great and made some big saves, which is a huge part of it. So, we’ll take the positives out of it.”

Silovs finished with 23 saves for Pittsburgh and commented on the effort despite the loss. “You just try to battle,” he said. “You just try to put your body in a shooting lane. Sometimes it hits you, sometimes it doesn’t. Today, it hit.”

The Devils’ lineup reflected recent injuries, with several adjustments. The forward groups featured Stefan Noesen–Jack Hughes–Jesper Bratt, Timo Meier–Nico Hischier–Dawson Mercer, Ondrej Palat–Cody Glass–Arseny Gritsyuk, and Paul Cotter–Juho Lammikko–Luke Glendening. Defensive pairings included Jonas Siegenthaler–Simon Nemec, Brenden Dillon–Luke Hughes, and Dennis Cholowski–Colton White. White made his first NHL appearance since April 13, 2023, with the Anaheim Ducks, logging 9:55 of ice time and one shot on goal.

In a brief scare during the third period, captain Nico Hischier took a puck to the face and left for evaluation, but returned later. Jack Hughes temporarily filled in on his line.

Sportsbooks closely tracked New Jersey’s streak as betting interest grew before the game. DraftKings opened with the Devils as -135 home favorites, while FanDuel and BetMGM listed them closer to -155. PointsBet and Caesars posted numbers as high as -175 by puck drop. The total goals line was set at 5.5. Action Network reported that late action came in on the Penguins, with some bettors backing Pittsburgh as a +130 underdog due to the Devils’ injury issues.

In futures markets, the Devils remained a top contender. BetMGM listed them at +1300 to win the Stanley Cup and +600 to win the Eastern Conference, with Metropolitan Division odds around +210. Across major books, including FanDuel and Caesars, the team’s Cup odds ranged from +1200 to +1800. Jack Hughes remained among the leading Hart Trophy candidates, with MVP odds fluctuating between +1500 and +2500 depending on the sportsbook.

For Pittsburgh, the loss marked its third in four games (1-2-1). Silovs’ performance and Crosby’s continued production highlighted the effort, though the Penguins managed just one goal. Kevin Hayes returned from injured reserve to make his season debut, recording four hits in 11:10 of ice time.

New Jersey’s victory moved its record to 8-0-0 this season when scoring first. It was also the third straight home game decided beyond regulation, following overtime wins against Colorado on October 26 and Montreal on November 6.