By Chris Ryan | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

The Devils have the chance to sweep their season series two-time defending Stanley Cup Champions and inch closer to a playoff spot when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Prudential Center in Newark.

With a 4-3 overtime win against Penguins on March 23 at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, the Devils became the only NHL team to beat the Penguins three times this season, and they will aim for a fourth on Tuesday.

Patrick Maroon will return to the lineup on Thursday after missing Tuesday's 4-3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes with a lower body injury, while Keith Kinkaid will make his fourth start of the season against the Penguins.

Here's how the Devils will line up on Thursday, plus notes and quotes heading into game No. 77.

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Adam Hunger | Getty Images

FORWARDS

Taylor Hall - Nico Hischier - Kyle Palmieri

Michael Grabner - Pavel Zacha - Patrick Maroon

Blake Coleman - Travis Zajac - Stefan Noesen

Miles Wood - Brian Boyle - Brian Gibbons

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Marcio Jose Sanchez | AP Photo

DEFENSEMEN

Andy Greene - Sami Vatanen

John Moore - Damon Severson

Mirco Mueller - Will Butcher

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Julio Cortez | AP Photo

GOALIES

Starter: Keith Kinkaid (36 GP, 22-10-2, 2.85 GAA, .911 save percentage)

Backup: Cory Schneider

Kinkaid will make his fourth start of the season against the Penguins. He is 3-0-0 while allowing six total goals in those three games.

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Ed Mulholland | USA TODAY Sports

SCRATCHES

Forward: Jimmy Hayes (healthy), Jesper Bratt (healthy), Drew Stafford (healthy)

Defenseman: Ben Lovejoy (healthy)

On IR: F Marcus Johansson (concussion, practicing). Johansson worked out off ice the past two days, and he was scheduled to meet with doctors. Coach John Hynes said there would be a further update on his status on Friday or Saturday.

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GAME NOTES

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Playoff picture

The Devils can pull within two points of the Penguins with a regulation win on Thursday, and they will still have one game in hand. The Penguins enter holding second place in the Metropolitan Division.

There are two other games of importance for the Devils being played around the NHL on Thursday. The Florida Panthers, who trial the Devils by three points with one game in hand, visit the Ottawa Senators. The Blue Jackets, who lead the Devils by three points for the first wild card, visit the Calgary Flames.

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James Guillory | USA TODAY Sports

Here's where the five teams fighting for the final four playoff spots in the Eastern Conference sit entering Thursday. The Devils hold the second and final wild card in the East, while the Panthers are in ninth place, on the outside of the playoff picture. The Penguins and Flyers hold the second and third-place spots in the Metropolitan Division, respectively.

Penguins: 92 points, 5 games remaining

Flyers: 92 points, 4 games remaining

WC1: Blue Jackets: 91 points, 5 games remaining

WC2: Devils: 88 points, 6 games remaining

Out: Panthers: 85 points, 7 games remaining

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Hall-Palmieri power play connection

When the Devils rallied for a 4-3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday, they got two goals thanks to Kyle Palmieri and the power play. In the second and third periods, Taylor Hall found Palmieri for tying goals, setting up Stefan Noesen's winner late in the third.

The Hall-Palmieri connection on the power play has been a deadly one, and something that has generated plenty of success for the Devils this season. Palmieri has 11 power-play goals this season. Of those 11, Hall has assisted on nine of them.

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Bill Kostroun | AP Photo

"He’s such a dangerous player. If I can ever find him, whether it’s a tip or a one-timer or just a crossing pass, he’s so dangerous with his shooting," Hall said. "It was really a five-man unit on our power play. I thought everyone chipped in, whether it was (Miles Wood) in front, (Travis Zajac) in the middle, (Will Butcher) doing a good job up top. We found a way to get the puck moving and opened up some seams or holes and found a way to get a couple, which is huge for our group."

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Coleman, Noesen combining with Zajac on shutdown line

Expect to see the line of Blake Coleman, Travis Zajac and Stefan Noesen out against Sidney Crosby and the Penguins' top line consistently on Thursday. The trio has formed into the Devils' shutdown line, often tasked with matching up against the top lines of opponents.

For Zajac, that is nothing new. He remains the Devils' top defensive forward and the veteran can play a two-way game against tough competition. But for Noesen and Coleman, the two have been put up to a tough challenge early in their careers, and both have answered the call.

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Charles LeClaire | USA TODAY Sports

"Part of it is their speed. They’ve got really good sticks and they’re probably two of the more physical guys on our team," Zajac said of his line mates. "And when they’re playing that way, those are the type of guys you really don’t like playing against because of that. I think not only that, but they have some offensive skill too where they can make some plays.

"I think the last month here, you’ve seen those guys really because of their work ethic and commitment this time of year, they’re getting those chances."

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Playoff implications of Devils' game vs. Penguins

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How Devils have found success vs. Pens

A handful of Western Conference teams went 2-0-0 against the Penguins this season, but the Devils are the only team with three victories against them this season. The Devils have utilized their speed to match the Penguins this season, and while they give Pittsburgh some respect, the Devils aren't afraid to challenge the Penguins' game.

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Charles LeClaire | USA TODAY Sports

"I think we’ve kind of gone at them. We’ve forced them to maybe make some mistakes and put them on their heels a bit," Hall said. "I don’t know if they’re quite used to that, especially in their own building. That’s probably the biggest thing we’ve done well. Just go at them with our speed and our skill. They’re a great team. They could have won a couple (of those) games for sure. But we’ve done a good job and Keith has been great in net."

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Chris Ryan may be reached at cryan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisRyan_NJ. Find NJ.com Devils on Facebook.