The Penguins find themselves in the so-called "Greatest City On Earth" tonight where they will be hosted by the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers look to right the ship as the Pens hope to keep theirs steady in the treacherous sea of injuries. It's Pens/Rangers tonight from MSG, but it's Big Dave's Pens Pregame right now!
Tonight's game day song is one of my favorites from the last year. Off their 2010 album, "This Is War," comes one of 30 Seconds To Mars greatest hits. Here it is "Kings and Queens." Enjoy!
The State of the Penguins
The Pens bounced back from a dispirited showing against the Canucks with a hard-fought win against the Senators. The newly acquired Klinkhammer had an impressive debut and Evgeni Malkin and Marc-Andre Fleury led the team to a good victory. Christian Ehrhoff added his second goal of the season to win the game with less than two minutes left in regulation.
Tonight will be the first of three games for the Pens this week. After tonight's showdown with the Rangers, they will rest a few days before back to back games with the Flames and Jackets this weekend. That being said, let's not get too far ahead of ourselves. Let's focus on tonight's matchup and the Rangers at hand.
Broadway Blues
Despite the injury woes and the down play the last few weeks, the Rangers are still in the thick of things in the Metropolitan Division. Besides the Pens and Isles, the division is wide open in the race for that final guaranteed playoff spot. New York sits just 2 points behind the Capitals for that position. Rick Nash is still leading the Rangers offense with 27 points on the season and King Henrik has been steady in the net.
Tonight will be the third matchup between these two teams. As I said, its eerily similar to the Pens first trip to New York. That time, the Rangers were down on their luck as well before dismantling the Penguins 5-0. Their next matchup appeared to be a Ranger victory too, until the War Room in Toronto intervened and brought the Pens back to life in a shootout. The teams have split the season series so far and each will look to take the upper hand tonight.
Here is what you need to know about the Rangers:
- The Rangers are 11-10-4 on the season, good for 26 points. They currently sit fourth in the Metropolitan Division.
- It's been a rough time on Broadway with the Rangers losing their last two games and going 4-4-2 in their last 10 overall.
- MSG has been much kinder than the road for the Rangers. At home this season, New York has a 8-5-3 record.
Rangers Scoring Leaders:
- LW Rick Nash - 27pts (17G-10A)
- C Derick Brassard - 21pts (8G-13A)
- RW Martin St. Louis - 20pts (10G-10A)
- C Derek Stepan - 13pts (2G-11A)
- LW Chris Kreider - 13pts (4G-9A)
Injury Report:
- LW Chris Kreider is doubtful for tonight's game with neck spasms.
- LW Tanner Glass is expected to play tonight after missing over a week with a case of Mumps.
Projected Ranger Lines:
- Rick Nash - Derick Brassard - Mats Zuccarello
- Carl Hagelin - Derek Stepan - Marty St. Louis
- JT Miller - Kevin Hayes - Lee Stempniak
- Tanner Glass - Dominic Moore - Jesper Fast
Projected D-Pairs:
- Ryan McDonagh - Dan Girardi
- Marc Staal - Dan Boyle
- John Moore - Kevin Klein
Henrik Lundqvist is expected to be the starting netminder for the Rangers tonight.
News & Notes
- Kris Letang (groin) skated with the team this morning, but did not participated in line rushes. He is not expected to play tonight. He is progressing and will become more involved in practice as the week progresses.
- Olli Maatta did not make the trip to New York and is OUT tonight. Maatta apparently suffered an injury in the victory over the Senators on Saturday. The nature of the injury has not been disclosed. The loss of Maatta is big, as he has been one of the teams leading ice time loggers this season.
- Patric Hornqvist (head/concussion) is out again tonight. He has yet to be diagnosed with a concussion, but Coach Johnston stated they will have an update on Tuesday.
- Chris Kunitz (foot) is set to miss about two more weeks with that broken bone in his foot. Though there were reports he was not wearing a walking boot over the weekend.
- Beau Bennett (knee) could begin skating next week. Bennett has missed two weeks since his injury against the Bruins.
A couple notes to take note of:
- The Penguins are 11-1 this season when Evgeni Malkin scores a goal. Here's hoping that trend continues tonight.
- Speaking of Geno, his power play tally on Saturday gave him 8 on the season. That total currently leads the NHL.
- Geno's power play tally on Saturday also moved him up the franchise lists. His power play tally put him in fourth all-time for the Penguins power play goals list.
- Christian Ehrhoff only has two goals this season, but both have given Pittsburgh victories. In fact, this is nothing new for the German defensemen as he has led the NHL in game-winning goals by defensemen since 2009-10. His last 3 goals overall have been of the game-winning nature.
- Free Hockey is a common theme for these two teams. 4 of the last 7 games have gone to a shootout.
Also, the Penguins will be wearing their new third jerseys tonight. Their first away game performance since 1992.
Projected Lines & pairs
- Nick Spaling - Sidney Crosby - Steve Downie
- Evgeni Malkin - Brandon Sutter - Blake Comeau
- Rob Klinkhammer - Marcel Goc - Jayson Megna
- Zach Sill - Andrew Ebbett - Craig Adams
Projected Penguin Pairs:
- Rob Scuderi - Simon Despres
- Paul Martin - Brian Dumoulin
- Christian Ehrhoff - Robert Bortuzzo
Marc-Andre Fleury will start in net.
My Keys to the Game
Scuderi-Despres Pair: Olli Maatta is out tonight. Robert Bortuzzo is back from suspension. Brian Dumoulin stays in. Borts slides in with Ehrhoff and Dumoulin stays with Martin. That means the pair with the most chemistry is Rob Scuderi and Simon Despres. Last year, that would've been a nightmare but not this year. The two are playing incredibly solid hockey thus far and the Pens will need to rely heavily on them tonight to shoulder the load with the new pairs.
Defense: The biggest problem with the Pens play against the Rangers during their last visit to MSG was the defensive breakdowns and the speed. It will be important not only to match speed, but to make sure the defense doesn't get caught flat-footed. That usually leads to disaster for the Pens. Keep the feet moving and control the puck and the boys should be good.
My 3 Players to Watch
2. Rob Klinkhammer: What the Pens got from him in his debut is exactly what they hoped they get when they made the deal. The big winger drew two penalties and had 5 hits in the contest. That is exactly what the Penguins need from him. If he can continue that, the Penguins will have won the trade.
3. Simon Despres: With Olli Maatta out tonight along with Kris Letang, it will fall on Simon Despres to continue his great play. He should get more minutes alongside Rob Scuderi with Maatta out now too. They have been a steady pair this year and Despres has been a force at both ends of the ice. Another good night by this pair, and particularly Despres, should give the Pens a victory.
What to Know If You're Watching
- ROOT Sports has the coverage starting at 6:30pm. Penguins Pregame will start at this time.
- Bob Errey and Paul Steigerwald will have the game call beginning at 7:00pm. Dan Potash will handle all the interviews.
- ROOT will have Penguins post game following the action.
- Pens Radio Net and 105.9 the X will have the radio call starting at 6:00pm.
- Bob Grove will host Penguins Pregame starting at 6 and follow the game action with Penguins Hot Line.
- Mike Lange and the Ol Two-Niner will have the radio call starting at 7:00pm.
Pens Points are available tonight via the following:
- 25pts - Miller Lite Night at Shaler Lounge in Glenshaw.
- 5pts - ROOT Sports Pregame code.
- 5pts - ROOT Sports Post Game code
- 5pts - Pens Radio Net keyword.
That will do it for me tonight! I haven't decided whether I will have a post game report on here or on twitter. Check the twitter feed to see what the format will be tonight.
I want to thank you all for reading all the blog posts, especially this one. You guys continue to support the twitter, facebook and blog and it means the absolute world to me. I cannot thank you all enough. Please keep it up!
Everyone enjoy the game! LETS GO PENS!!!
Cheers!