NEWARK, N.J. -- The signs in Prudential Center Saturday proclaimed this to be a "Heritage Game," and it certainly had that feel.
The New Jersey Devils were decked out in their original colors, green and red.
An electronic strip atop the scoreboard before the game identified the venue as "Meadowlands Arena."
There were lots of video clips from New Jersey's early seasons in the NHL, most of them featuring guys with mullets.
And the Devils completed their nostalgic trip to the 1980s in the most fitting of ways.
They lost a game.
Oh, the Penguins' 3-1 victory might not have been as lopsided as many of New Jersey's defeats were 35 or so years ago, but the Devils still managed to honor the legacies of Mel Bridgman, Tapio Levo, Hector Marini and so many others.
And they did it by losing to a team that, already missing top-six forwards Evgeni Malkin and Jason Zucker, among others, learned shortly before the game that Brandon Tanev, who was filling Zucker's spot on the No. 2 line, wouldn't be playing.
Tanev left the warmups because of an undisclosed upper-body injury that is being evaluated, Mike Sullivan said.
His place in the lineup was taken by Frederick Gaudreau, who centered the fourth line and turned in a solid nine-plus minutes of work.
"He played a great game," Zach Aston-Reese said.
Gaudreau's contribution included 2 1/2 minutes of penalty-killing, something at which the Penguins were exceptionally effective in this game.
They have struggled while shorthanded most of this season, but killed all four New Jersey power plays -- including two back-to-back in the third period, when the Penguins were trying to protect a one-goal lead -- and limited the Devils to one shot on goal when they had an extra man.
"We put an emphasis on getting in the shot lane," Aston-Reese said. "I thought we were far more aggressive today, whenever we got the chance."
The stifling penalty-kill was particularly impressive because the Penguins were without their top penalty-killing tandem, Tanev and Teddy Blueger.
"The guys who were on the ice did a great job," Sullivan said. "I thought, specifically, we did a pretty good job of limiting their success on their entries. We made the entries difficult. We made possession difficult. And when we do that, we can limit their zone time, and that's such an important aspect of killing penalties."
Aston-Reese and Mark Jankowski were the top pair of forwards when the Penguins were shorthanded, with Gaudreau and Colton Sceviour as the second group.
"We had some guys step up," Bryan Rust said. "All those guys were great."
So was DeSmith, who turned aside 24 of 25 shots, being beaten only when Kyle Palmieri converted a rebound in the first period.
"He's really established himself as an NHL goalie (this season)," Sullivan said. "He's played some big games for us. Every time we've put him in there, he's given us a chance to win."
Of course, the Penguins weren't going to win unless they scored a couple of goals, and they got all they would need during a 93-second span in the second period.
Aston-Reese tied the game, 1-1, when he beat Devils goalie Scott Wedgewood from below the left hash at 4:59.
Rust promptly got what proved to be the game-winner when he blew through a stick-check by Devils defenseman Damon Severson in the right circle, and went to the net before throwing a backhander past Wedgewood to make it 2-1.
That was the final goal by either team until 14:25 of the third, when Jake Guentzel deflected in a Sidney Crosby shot from the left point to put the Penguins up by two.
The Devils generated some offense during the third period, but the Penguins still did a good job of holding down the quantity -- and quality -- of New Jersey's shots.
They forced Devils to the outside, taking away the middle of the ice, where the Devils had operated almost at will during a 3-2 victory against the Penguins Thursday.
"We just wanted to defend harder," Rust said. "And I think that's what we did."
What they will have to do on a regular basis, really, as long as they have so many key players missing,
There are times when the Penguins can overwhelm some opponents with sheer talent.
Those times are on hold for now, however.
And with the East Division playoff race so competitive, the Penguins don't have the luxury of dwelling on disappointments, like their loss to the Devils two days earlier.
"The players understand the circumstances," Sullivan said. "They understand that we have to be able to move by games where we're disappointed when we don't get the (desired) result. We can't let it affect our performance moving forward."
History would expect nothing less.
MORE FROM THE GAME
• Jared McCann returned to the Penguins' lineup after missing the previous five games because of an unspecified injury. He centered the second line and had one shot on goal and three blocked shots in 14:55 of ice time.
• Crosby had two assists and an uncharacteristically tough night on faceoffs (10-14), but elevated his game and intensity above even their usual high levels pretty much every time he went over the boards. "He was a threat from the drop of the puck," Sullivan said. "He's always been inclined to (raise his game in such situations). I think that's part of his leadership. That's part of his character. That's just part of his DNA."
• Guentzel and Rust are the only Penguins players to appear in all 31 games this season.
• Sullivan marked his 400th game as coach of the Penguins. He replaced Mike Johnston behind the bench in December 2015.
• Devils goalie Mackenzie Blackwood, who aggravated an injury during warmups Thursday, did not dress, but is expected to rejoin the lineup soon. It is not known if he will be available when the teams meet again Sunday at 1:08 p.m. at PPG Paints Arena.
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Video highlights
• NHL scoreboard
• Standings
• Statistics
THE THREE STARS
As selected at Prudential Center:
1. Casey DeSmith, Penguins
2. Bryan Rust, Penguins
3. Sidney Crosby, Penguins
THE INJURIES
• Center Evgeni Malkin is "week to week" because of an unspecified lower-body injury sustained March 16.
• Forward Jason Zucker is out "longer term" with an unspecified lower-body injury sustained Feb. 23, but has resumed skating on his own.
• Center Teddy Blueger is out "longer term" with an unspecified upper-body injury sustained March 15.
• Defenseman Mark Friedman is day-to-day with an unspecified upper-body injury sustained March 4, but has been practicing with the team.
THE LINEUPS
Sullivan’s lines and pairings:
Jake Guentzel-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust
Evan Rodrigues-Jared McCann-Kasperi Kapanen
Zach Aston-Reese-Mark Jankowski-Sam Lafferty
Colton Sceviour-Frederick Gaudreau-Anthony Angello
Brian Dumoulin-Kris Letang
Mike Matheson-Cody Ceci
Marcus Pettersson-Chad Ruhwedel
And for Lindy Ruff's Devils:
Janne Kuokkanen-Travis Zajac-Yegor Sharangovich
Jesper Bratt-Jack Hughes-Kyle Palmieri
Miles Wood-Pavel Zacha-Nicholas Merkley
Andreas Johnsson-Mikhail Maltsev-Nikita Gusev
Dmitry Kulikov-P.K. Subban
Ty Smith-Damon Severson
Ryan Murray-Sami Vatanen
THE SCHEDULE
The Penguins and Devils will play again Sunday at 1:08 p.m. at PPG Paints Arena, their third meeting in four days.
THE CONTENT
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