Good evening Penguins fans and welcome to the latest edition of Big Dave's Pens Pregame. Tonight, our boys look to continue their seven game win with a win over the team that knocked them out of last season's Stanley Cup Playoffs, the New York Rangers. The Pens hope for a little redemption tonight on Broadway as they storm Madison Square Garden. So with that, let's begin the Pregame....
(NOTE: Tonight's game day song is from one of the best in the business. One of my favorite artists out there and a Brooklyn native. Off his album, The Blueprint 3, one of Jay-Z's best "Empire State of Mind.")
The State of the Penguins
The Pens currently sit atop the polls in various NHL rankings. Currently, ESPN has them as the top ranked team in the league as they continued their winning streak. Here are several other numbers that are impressive besides the win streak:
- 37 consecutive successful penalty kills. The Pens have been perfect on the kill since their October showdown with the Isles. The streak includes the games they lost to Philly and Detroit.
- The strength of the kill has taken them shooting up the ranking from one of the league's worst to one of it's best. They currently sit 3rd in the NHL in that statistic.
- Speaking of hot, Marc-Andre Fleury is on a six game win streak. His last loss was the 5-3 loss to Philly at home. He has since won six games, half of them via the shutout and has only allowed seven goals in that span.
- Just like the penalty kill, the power play is one of the best in the leauge; the best actually. They currently are converting on the man-advantage 37.5% of the time. Tops in the NHL.
As I said, it is a good time to be a Penguins fan. The Pens are also getting closer to getting one of their best young players back too. Beau Bennett, who has missed the start of the season after suffering an injury in camp, played for the Baby Pens this weekend and put up 5 assists in two games. He may make his return as early as tonight.
It may be a great time to be a Penguins fan, but it hasn't been as hot for the Rangers. They have had a mixed bag this season thus far. Let's take a look at the Rangers next...
Broadway Blues
Unlike the Pens, the Rangers have not been having a strong start to the season. They started off sluggish, with former Vezina winner Henrik Lundqvist allowing a lot of goals to start the season, and things haven't gotten much better. They lost two last weekend to lowly opponents including blowing a lead to Toronto and falling to one of the league's worst in Edmonton. They currently sit seven points back to the Pens in the division and have a minus-7 goal differential overall.
The Rangers had a lot of turnover in the offseason, which isn't uncharacteristic of a Cup Finals losing side. They lost Anton Stralman, Benoit Pouliot, Brian Boyle and Derek Dorsett to more lucrative deals elsewhere. Former alternate captain, Brad Richards, was bought out in the offseason as well. The top two lines in New York remained the same, but there was a lot of turnover on the incredibly productive bottom six. They added former Penguins Lee Stempniak, Tanner Glass and Ryan Malone. They also brought in Matt Lombardi and defenseman Dan Boyle to replace Stralman. They corps players, McDonagh, Girardi, Stepan and Lundqvist remain.
Here is what you need to know about the Rangers:
- 6-6-2 record. 14pts and tied for 5th in the NHL.
- They are 5-3-2 in their last 10 games.
- First of four meetings this season. Will play again this Saturday in Pittsburgh.
Offseason Acquisitions: LW Tanner Glass, LW Ryan Malone, RW Lee Stempniak, D Dan Boyle, LW Matthew Lombardi, D Mike Kostka
Offseason Subtractions: C Brad Richards, D Anton Stralman, LW Benoit Pouliot, C Brian Boyle, RW Derek Dorsett
Leading Scorers:
- LW Rick Nash - 14pts (11G-3A)
- C Derick Brassard - 12pts (5G-7A)
- RW Marty St. Louis - 11pts (4G-7A)
- LW Chris Kreider - 10pts (4G-6A)
Injuries:
- D Ryan McDonagh (shoulder) - Currently on IR
- D Dan Boyle (broken hand) - Day-to-Day, expected to return sometime this week.
Projected Lines:
- Rick Nash - Derick Brassard - Marty St. Louis
- Chris Kreider - Derek Stepan - Mats Zuccarello
- Carl Hagelin - Kevin Hayes - Lee Stempniak
- Tanner Glass - Dominic Moore - Jesper Fast
Projected Pairs:
- Marc Staal - Kevin Klein
- Dan Girardi - Matt Hunwick
- Mike Kostka - John Moore
Henrik Lundqvist will start the game for the Rangers tonight.
News & Notes From Around the Pens
Defenseman Olli Maatta is well ahead of schedule in his recovery from tumor removal surgery. The young Finn was at Southpointe yesterday working out and he skated at MSG after Pens practice today. As of now, the expectation is still two more weeks, but it's possible he could be back sooner.
Steve Downie was sat in the third period for precautionary reasons and was able to skate fully yesterday. Coach Johnston stated it was just precautionary and expects him in the lineup tonight.
Beau Bennett was recalled from Wilkes-Barre this afternoon. I don't expect him in the lineup tonight, but Friday in Toronto seems highly likely.
Also, there were reports today that Paul Martin is open to re-signing with the Penguins. This comes as news after the offseason but seeing the system and where the team is going perhaps he's more comfortable.
Predicted Lines and Pairs
Same Lines and Pairs as Saturday.
Lines:
1. Kunitz - Crosby - Hornqvist
2. Dupuis - Malkin - Comeau
3. Spaling - Sutter - Downie
4. Sill - Goc - Adams
Pairs:
1. Letang - Martin
2. Ehrhoff - Bortuzzo
3. Scuderi - Despres
Flower in the cage tonight.
My 3 Keys to Tonight
Stop Rick Nash: Rick Nash is off to a great start this season. This is the player they were expecting when they traded away all those pieces to the Jackets a few years back. That being said, it is important for the Pens to stop the big forward in his tracks. The job will likely fall to Brandon Sutter and the third line. If the Pens can stop Nash and his line, they should be successful.
Preventing Liberties: In the playoffs, Marc Staal and the Rangers had no problem targeting Crosby and playing him incredibly dirty. It was something that required being addressed in the offseason. Enter Steve Downie, Sill, Despres and Bortuzzo. It will fall on these guys to make sure that the Rangers don't play dirty against the Pens stars and to provide punishments if they do.
My 3 Players To Watch
2. Brandon Sutter: Nash, St. Louis and Brassard are off to a good start. It will be up to the Pens best defensive center and his line to stop them. Expect Johnston to get Sutter, Spaling and Downie out there as often as possible against this line for defensive purposes. Also, Sutter had great games against the Rangers in the spring, watch for him offensively as well.
3. Kris Letang: He played incredibly well in the playoff series against the Rangers alongside Paul Martin and the two have reunited in the last week. Letang's game in Buffalo on Saturday was outstanding and that kind of offensive production is expected from him. He will be a key tonight at both ends of the ice, but if he can pitch in a point or two, that will put the Pens over the top.
The Info for Those Watching
The Pens are at Madison Square Garden tonight, so I have no arena information. That being said, here is what you need to know about watching at home:
- Puck drop is at 7:00pm
- ROOT Sports will have Penguins Pregame starting at 630pm.
- Paul Steigerwald and Bob Errey will have the game coverage on ROOT with Dan Potash handling the interviews.
- Penguins Post Game will follow the game on ROOT Sports.
- Pens Radio Net and 105.9 the X has the radio call for the game. Mike Lange and Phil Bourque will have the call at 7pm.
- Bob Grove will have the pregame at 6 and follow with Penguins Hot Line following the game action.
- For those watching from out of town, the game is on MSG1 in the New York/New Jersey region.
Thank you a for reading. I apologize for no post game on Saturday and no Week in Review on Sunday. I recently moved which had me wiped this weekend. I will have the postgame up tonight after the game.
Enjoy the game! Lets Go Pens and Happy Veterans Day to all those brave men and women out there protecting our rights, our freedoms and our hockey!
Cheers