Three takeaways from the Penguins’ 5-1 road loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night:
Swept away
After falling at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., the Penguins were swept in their regular-season series by Devils (0-3-1).
The only other time the Devils franchise (including its previous incarnations as the Kansas City Scouts or Colorado Rockies) swept a regular-season series against the Penguins came in 2009-10 (0-6-0).
In total, the Penguins have been swept by five Eastern Conference teams this season:
Boston Bruins - 0-2-1
Carolina Hurricanes - 0-2-2
Montreal Canadiens - 0-1-2
New Jersey Devils - 0-3-1
New York Islanders - 0-3-1
The Detroit Red Wings (0-1-1) can sweep the Penguins in a home contest Saturday at Little Caesars Arena.
With regard to Western Conference foes, the Edmonton Oilers (0-2-0) and Seattle Kraken (0-2-0) have swept the Penguins in two-game series.
Oddly, the Penguins swept the powerful Tampa Bay Lightning (3-0-0) this season. And not so oddly, they swept the not-so-powerful Philadelphia Flyers (3-0-0).
Not another hat
The Penguins allowed a hat trick for the third time in eight days on Tuesday.
March 28 – at Red Wings 7, Penguins 4 – David Perron
April 1 – Bruins 4, at Penguins 3 – David Pastrnak
April 4 – at Devils 5, Penguins 1 – Dawson Mercer
Friend and foe
The last Devils player to score a hat trick against the Penguins was forward Brian Boyle, who tallied three goals against goaltender Matt Murray in a 5-1 win at PPG Paints Arena on Nov. 5, 2018.
Boyle, a cancer survivor who eventually played for the Penguins, recorded his first and only career hat trick on the Penguins’ Hockey Fights Cancer night.
