For Devils, Pens a measuring-stick matchup

BOSTON -- Leave it to the Penguins' Maxime Talbot to find the real reason his team lost its first three meetings to the New Jersey Devils this season.

He didn't play in the first two.

"That's probably why," the Pittsburgh forward told NHL.com.

Well, it might go a bit further than that -- like maybe the two goals in three games -- but the fourth game of the season series Wednesday shapes up as a measuring stick for two teams sitting atop the Atlantic Division and with the first and third-most points in the Eastern Conference.

For the defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins, it's a chance to see how they rate against the top team in the conference. For the Devils, it's another opportunity to measure themselves against the club that has what 29 other teams are looking for.

The Devils won a pair of 4-1 games, and beat the Pens 4-0 on Dec. 21, the game that saw Martin Brodeur break the all-time NHL shutout record.

"This is a big game for us," Penguins defenseman Sergei Gonchar told NHL.com. "We didn't win games against them, so obviously it's a big game for us. Not just because of the standings, but because of the way we played against them.

"Going into every game we focus on winning the game. Today is one of those games you really want to win."

It's a similar feeling from the home dressing room.

"I think when you play throughout a season you always look at certain matchups," Devils goalie Martin Brodeur said. "When you're able to beat a team that's close to you (in the standings), that's a little advantage you get."

Despite having won three times in Pittsburgh, the Devils are taking nothing for granted.

"Other than the fact that we did some good things, we did some things that made us successful, we know it's a fine line," Devils captain Jamie Langenbrunner told NHL.com. "A break here or break there and those games switch very quickly, especially against this team."

Brodeur has stopped 92 of 94 Penguins shots this season, but he knows he'll have to play just as well to make it four in a row against Pittsburgh this season.

"When we play a good team, especially when you have success against a good team, you know they'll respond eventually," Brodeur said. "We've beaten them three times, so for them to come in, they're going to try to get a little vengeance and try to get to us somehow. It'll definitely be an important matchup for us. We've played them well on the road and now we'll try to show them we can do it at home, also."

Penguins forward Mike Rupp said he's not looking at how his team shapes up against the Devils, rather that this game provides an opportunity for his team to get its game back on track after two-straight losses.

"We need to get a win because we've lost two in a row," he told NHL.com. "We're not letting that play into our heads of not having beaten these guys yet. Our main objective every night is getting two points. This is an important two points to catch those guys. I think we're looking at it more in that aspect rather than not having beaten them yet."

But Penguins coach Dan Bylsma sees this contest as something his team needs to in its quest to repeat as Cup champions.

"Every game we play, it helps us determine where we're at as a team," he said. "We played a good team in Buffalo (Tuesday) and we have to evaluate how we played and what that means, where we're at and what we need to get better at. Tonight we're playing a team that we've had trouble generating offensive chances against and they've played very well against us. They're sitting above us in our division. We will certainly take some cues from this game -- where we're at and how we need to play and what we need to get better at going forward."