2 
5Pittsburgh hadn't been able to solve New Jersey in the teams' first 5 meetings of the year, and while the jerseys might have been different, the results were not.
The Devil's wore their red, white, and green retro jerseys, similar to the ones they wore during their first decade of existence after coming to New Jersey in 1982, for the first and last time this season. It didn't distract them from sweeping the season series from the Penguins, 6-0, in front of a packed house in Newark.
Pittsburgh jumped out to a 1-0 lead early in the 1st period, but it was all New Jersey after that. Turnover after turnover from the Penguins helped the Devils score 4 straight goals and take a 4-1 lead into the 3rd period.
Dainius Zubrus, Paul Martin, Patrik Elias, Zach Parise, and Rob Niedermayer each scored for New Jersey while Martin Brodeur made 24 saves. Martin's goal was his 1st of the year after missing 59 games due to injury. Chris Kunitz and Ruslan Fedotenko tallied for the Penguins.
The Devils outscored Pittsburgh by a total of 22-5 in the 6-game sweep of the season series.
The win gives New Jersey 87 points, tying them with the Penguins in points, but giving them 1st place in the division because they have 1 more win. The Devils have also played 1 fewer game. This jumps New Jersey to 2nd in the Eastern Conference and brings Pittsburgh down to 4th.
The Devils travel to Toronto Thursday to play the Leafs, while Pittsburgh is in Boston to face off against the Bruins. The Pittsburgh/Boston game Thursday is one to keep an eye on. After Penguins' Matt Cooke blindsided Bruins' Marc Savard almost 2 weeks ago, leaving him with a concussion and ending the star player's season, the expectations are pretty high that things could get a bit chippy, to say the least. That game can be seen locally, as usual, and also on the NHL Network.
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Flames 3 Avalanche 2
A great opportunity for Calgary to catch 8th-place Detroit came 2 days ago when they played Detroit, but turning it around and winning the next game in Colorado will do. The Flames had a 3-0 lead in this game and held off the Avalanche to give them 79 points on the season and move them to within 1 point of the 8th and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. This was Calgary's first win this season over Northwest Division-rival Colorado in their 5th try. The Avalanche stay at 86 points and 5th place in the West, 5 points behind Phoenix and 1 point ahead of Los Angeles.
Blackhawks 2 Ducks 4
Anaheim needs every point they can get if they look to make the same type of run they did last year, finishing the year 10-2-1 and sneaking into the final playoff spot, and a win against 2nd-place Chicago will help. But even a run like that might not work for the Ducks as they currently sit 13th in the West with 72 points and are 8 points out of a playoff spot. They have 13 games remaining. Some of the Blackhawks, particularly Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, had spent the last couple days in Southern California making appearances on SportsCenter and the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Chicago has now lost 3 in-a-row and travel up I-5 on Thursday to face the Kings in L.A.
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Thursday's Schedule (ET):
Penguins @ Bruins, 7:00, NHL Network
Blues @ Rangers, 7:00
Capitals @ Hurricanes, 7:00, CSN
Senators @ Thrashers, 7:00
Devils @ Maple Leafs, 7:30
Sabres @ Lightning, 7:30
Coyotes @ Panthers, 7:30
Wild @ Predators, 8:00
Flyers @ Stars, 8:30
Sharks @ Canucks, 10:00
Blackhawks @ Kings, 10:30, FS West
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