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ESPN’s slate of exclusive broadcasts features a doozy Saturday: It’s a tripleheader on ABC and ESPN+, capped off by the Boston Bruins hosting the New Jersey Devils at 8 p.m. ET.

Not only is this a battle of two of the NHL’s top teams but the Bruins can tie the single-season record for wins (62) if they pull out a victory over the Devils. For more on all the Bruins’ historic exploits this season, head here.

To help get you ready for the game, we’ve put together a guide on the key players to watch for each team, including in-depth statistical insights from ESPN Stats & Information, and more.

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8 p.m. ET | Watch live on ESPN+

Bruins
Power Rankings: 1
Leading scorer: David Pastrnak (57 G, 47 A, 104 P)
2022-23 record: 61-12-5, first in Atlantic Division

  • The Bruins’ offense centers on an elite ability to move the puck toward high-quality scoring areas of the ice. Boston averages an NHL-best 14.1 passes to the slot per game (league average is 11.3 per game), per Stathletes data. Furthermore, 39.0% of their shot attempts are taken from the slot, which is the third-highest rate in the NHL, trailing only the Maple Leafs (39.6%) and Blues (39.4%).

  • One-timers are an effective shot selection because their quickness decreases the time for defenses, in particular goaltenders, to defend them. The Bruins generate 29.9% of their scoring chances off one-timers, the highest rate in the NHL (league average is 24.3%), per Stathletes data. Only the Oilers (86) and Kings (83) have scored more goals on one-timers this season than the Bruins have (81). Pastrnak is largely responsible for that total, having scored 20 one-timer goals this season, tied for second most in the NHL with Mark Scheifele and behind only Leon Draisaitl (27).

  • Defensively, the Bruins lead the NHL, having allowed only 2.10 goals per game, the only team below 2.50.

  • Boston simply does an exceptional job at limiting its opponents’ scoring opportunities. Only the Hurricanes (11.5) and Kings (12.3) allow fewer scoring chances per game than the Bruins (12.4).

  • Pastrnak is second in the NHL with 57 goals and is tied for fifth with 104 points, on pace for 60 and 109, respectively. Those totals don’t approach the NHL records, but it is already the fifth-highest total in a season by a Bruin, breaking Phil Esposito’s clean sweep of the top five goal-scoring seasons in B’s history.

  • According to Stathletes data, Pastrnak’s 8.81 shot attempts per game trails only Nathan MacKinnon (9.03) among NHL skaters. He leads the league in one-timer shot attempts per game (2.62) and sits third in shot attempts between the dots per game (6.25) behind only Auston Matthews (6.70) and MacKinnon (6.66).


Devils
Power Rankings: 3
Leading scorer: Jack Hughes (42 G, 53 A, 95 P)
2022-23 record: 50-21-8

  • Excluding shootout winners, the Devils have outscored their opponents by 56 goals this season, which is third in the NHL behind only the Bruins (+119) and Oilers (+60). Their 63 goals allowed in the third period is fewer than every other team except Boston (56).

  • Each of the Devils’ top four goal scorers this season are under the age of 25: 21-year-old Hughes has 42, 24-year-old Nico Hischier has 31, 24-year-old Jesper Bratt has 31 and 21-year-old Dawson Mercer has 27.

  • New Jersey is the only club this season with each of its top four goal scorers under the age of 25. If Mercer scores three goals in the team’s final five games, the Devils can become the first team in 38 years to feature four players under the age of 25 who score at least 30 goals in a season. In 1984-85, the Jets and Oilers accomplished that feat.

  • Although the Devils’ roster is young, their head coach has been around quite a while. One of five head coaches in NHL history with at least 1,700 regular-season games, Lindy Ruff has led a team to the postseason for the 11th time in 22 campaigns in that role.

  • The Devils are an elite team going from defense to offense, having scored 34.6% of their goals this season off the rush, per Stathletes research. That is the third-highest rate in the league, trailing only the Blues (39.3%) and Sabres (35.6%). Their 93 goals off the rush is tied for third in the NHL, with the Connor McDavid and Draisaitl-led Oilers, again trailing only the Blues and Sabres (99).

  • The Devils are very much a team that subscribes to the philosophy that no shot attempt is a bad shot attempt. They average 64.8 shot attempts per game overall, per Stathletes data, fourth in the league behind the Hurricanes, Flames and Panthers.

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Follow live: Jets, Stars battle in Game 3 as series shifts to Dallas

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Jung hits HR for mom while facing brother Jace

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Jung hits HR for mom while facing brother Jace

DETROIT — Josh Jung delivered a special Mother’s Day gift to his mom, Mary.

The Texas Rangers third baseman hit a two-out, two-run homer in the fifth inning off Beau Brieske at Detroit on Sunday. Jung’s brother, Jace, was in the Tigers’ lineup at the same position.

Before the game, Mary Jung delivered the game ball to the mound and her sons joined her on the field.

“My heart is just exploding,” Mary Jung said in an interview on the Rangers’ telecast. “I mean, I couldn’t ask for a better Mother’s Day gift. We’re all in the same place, to begin with. But then to watch them live their dream, do what they love to do, I couldn’t be more proud.”

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the first home run by a player facing his brother’s team on Mother’s Day since at least 1969.

The Jungs’ parents, Mary and Jeff, have been in attendance throughout the three-game series. The brothers also started Saturday when Texas recorded a 10-3 victory.

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Yankees’ Stroman has setback in rehab of knee

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Yankees' Stroman has setback in rehab of knee

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — New York Yankees pitcher Marcus Stroman had a setback as he tries to return from a left knee injury that has sidelined him for the past month.

Manager Aaron Boone said Sunday that Stroman still had “discomfort” in the knee after throwing a live batting practice session in Tampa, Florida, on Friday and will be reevaluated before the team figures out the next step in his rehabilitation process.

“He’s gotten a lot of treatments on it and stuff,” Boone said. “It just can’t kind of get over that final hump to really allow him to get to that next level on the mound. We’ll try and continue to get our arms around it and try and make sure we get that out of there.”

Stroman hasn’t pitched since allowing five runs in two-thirds of an inning against the San Francisco Giants on April 11. He was placed on the 15-day injured list the next day with what Boone hoped at the time would be a short-term absence.

But there is no timeline for the right-hander’s return, and Boone said the injury likely impacted the way Stroman pitched before going on the IL. He was 0-1 with an 11.57 ERA in three starts.

“Certainly that last start, I think he just couldn’t really step on that front side like he needed to,” Boone said. “I talk about how these guys are like race cars, and one little thing off and it can affect just that last level of command or that last level of extra stuff that you need. So we’ll continue to try to get him where we need to.”

Stroman had surgery March 19, 2015, to repair a torn ACL in his left knee. He returned to a major league mound that Sept. 12.

Stroman, 34, is in the second season of a two-year contract guaranteeing $37 million. His deal includes a $16 million conditional player option for 2026 that could be exercised if he pitches in at least 140 innings this year.

Last season, Stroman was 10-9 with a 4.31 ERA in 30 games (29 starts) when he threw 154⅔ innings, his most since 2021 with the Mets. Stroman struggled in the second half and did not pitch in the postseason, when the Yankees made their first World Series appearance since 2009.

In other injury news, DJ LeMahieu played for the second straight day on a rehab assignment at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Sunday and could join the team in Seattle this week to make his season debut. LeMahieu had a cortisone injection last week in his right hip, dealing with an injury stemming from last year.

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