PITTSBURGH _ If the Penguins find themselves in need of a refresher course on the type of leadership they have inside their dressing room, chances are they'll turn to this past spring's Stanley Cup run before they hold up a December game against the Devils.
Nevertheless, they surely didn't mind the bounce-back effort they received on Friday, 24 hours after a forgettable night in Columbus.
A strong start there faded, dwarfed by seven unanswered goals. This time, Penguins came out flying but suffered no such dip. The result was a 4-1 win over the Devils heading into the Christmas break.
Sidney Crosby, Eric Fehr, Chad Ruhwedel and Patric Hornqvist scored goals, as the Penguins kept their streak alive of not suffering back-to-back regulation losses since coach Mike Sullivan's first four games in Pittsburgh.
The Penguins have not lost back-to-back games in regulation in more than a calendar year _ since Dec. 18-19, 2015.
How strong of a start was this? The Penguins attempted 27 of the first 31 shots, and the Devils didn't record their third shot on goal until 3:18 of the second period.
By not fading and instead suffocating what little offense the Devils do have, the Penguins improved their record to 22-8-5. They're 8-0-1 at home since Nov. 26. And with 49 points, they're one behind Columbus for the Eastern Conference lead.
Crosby's goal came on the power play, helping the Penguins improve to 14-1-3 this season when they get a man-advantage goal.
Marc-Andre Fleury, making just his second start since allowing four goals on 16 shots on Dec. 5, mirrored his team's effort with a second consecutive strong performance.
Since that game against Ottawa, Fleury stopped 41 of 43 in Toronto and 23 of 24 against the Devils to earn just his third win since Matt Murray returned from a broken thumb.
Thirteen of those saves came in the second period when the Devils were finally able to mount some offense.
After Evgeni Malkin drew a hooking call on Adam Henrique, Crosby blasted a slap shot from atop the right circle at 11:00.
The goal, his 24th of the season, wasn't one of the many in-tight plays we've seen from Crosby but more one of sheer power.
The goal extended Crosby's NHL lead in first goals to eight. His career-best mark in that category is 12, set in 2009-10, and one would think that won't last much longer.
Justin Schultz picked up a primary assists, giving him 16 points in his last 13 games.
Fehr stretched the Penguins lead to 3-1 at 4:13 of the second period. Matt Cullen displayed some nifty stickhandling through the slot, shot the puck, and it bounced off Fehr and went in.
Not bad gift for Fehr, who welcomed a baby boy, Benjamin Stanley, into the world only a couple days prior. Hockey-wise, it was Fehr's first goal since Dec. 1, before a run of five consecutive healthy scratches.
Kyle Palmieri cut the lead to 2-1 at 13:24 of the second when he tucked a rebound past Fleury, but Ruhwedel flung a wrist shot from the top of the zone that found the back of the net at 19:21.
Before Ruhwedel's goal, his first in the NHL, Steve Oleksy squared off with Miles Wood, a spirited bout that energized the sellout crowd.
With Trevor Daley and Kris Letang both still week-to-week _ Sullivan called them "status quo" before the game _ with injuries, Ruhwedel and Oleksy gave the coach no reason to take them out of the line when the Penguins reconvene after the Christmas break Tuesday in New Jersey.
Fleury made a pair of crucial saves in the period. First, he denied PA Parenteau on a one-time feed on the power play from Taylor Hall. He later used the post to help stop Andy Greene on a short breakaway.
After going eight games without, Patric Hornqvist scored for the second time in three games, this one coming at 12:05 of the third period to make it 4-1. Malkin picked up the assist, his second of the game.
