Good evening ladies and gentlemen and welcome back to the latest edition of Big Dave's Pens Pregame. Excuse my absence Monday, it was a hectic weekend of travel and I just didn't get the time to write it up. I am glad you are all back with me tonight, for it is a great matchup here.
Tonight, our Penguins play host to their dreaded division rivals, the team that has eliminated them from the playoffs the past two seasons, the New York Rangers.
Puck drops on Rivalry Night at 8:00pm this evening, but you can begin enjoying the Pregame now....
Tonight's "Big Dave's Gameday Jam" comes from New York native and my favorite rapper of all time. This guy has been around the block for nearly two decades and has created some of the most notorious hip-hop songs during that time. That's right! I'm talking about HOV, Sean Carter, the legendary Jay-Z. This song comes off his notorious "Black Album," it's "Dirt Off Your Shoulder." Enjoy it!
The State of the Penguins
That is the only word to describe the play of Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang and the Penguins of late. Sidney Crosby put on another huge display for the home town crowd Monday night v. Anaheim when he pitched a two goal, four point night. The captain dominated every aspect of the game from opening puck drop until his final shift in the Penguins 6-2 victory.
There is no denying that Sidney Crosby is officially back. His numbers under coach Sullivan are phenomenal. His numbers of late are even better. Just look at the previous five games. In that time, Crosby has 13 points over those games, including a three-point and two four-point games over that time. Sid's goals Monday gave him a career-high seven-game goal streak, extended his point streak to eleven games and his 53 points now has him in the top five in NHL scoring. Crosby is back.
Kris Letang continues to play well. He added a couple assists on Monday night, giving him 10 multi-point games in his last 17 contests. He now has 36 points over his last 31 games. Fair to say, despite injuries and a horrendous beginning to the season, Letang, like Crosby, is back at his elite level.
And the Penguins as a whole are playing well too. Their 6-2 win over Anaheim gave them six-straight wins at Consol Energy Center and a ten game unbeaten streak at home (8-0-2). They have won six of their last seven games and have found the back of the net with increasing regularity. It is really quite impressive the body of work this team is doing, considering three of the teams top five centers are out injured an the entire bottom six is currently comprised of AHL players.
Nonetheless, the Penguins trudge on and look forward to the first of two divisional matchups to close the week. Tonight, they host the Rangers for the first game between the teams this season at Consol Energy Center on NBCSN's Rivalry Night. Should be fun...
Rags Or Riches: The New York Rangers
It has been a unique season for the Rangers. At times, they have looked like the perennial Stanley Cup contenders, but at others they have looked like a team without identity. It has been sort of Jekyl and Hyde thus far, but the Rangers are playing great of late.
The Rangers have been in second place of the Metropolitan Division for the majority of the season. Over their last 10 games, they have played outstanding hockey, including winning three straight entering tonight's matchup. They aren't flashy by any means, they are simply grinding games away and relying on their solid defensive corps and the King in net to sustain their play. Both corps have been good all year.
Offense has been tougher to come by for every NHL team, but the Rangers are one of the few with great point distribution on their roster. Every player on their roster who has played at least 40 games this season has double digit points. Center Derick Brassard picked up where he left off from last year, posting 18 goals and 40 points thus far. Mats Zuccarello has been solid again, sitting just one point behind Brassard while veteran Rick Nash has 12 goals and 33 points to date. Of late, the hottest player for the Rangers has been Pittsburgh native JT Miller. For the season, Miller has 17 goals and 30 points, but over his last 10 games he has 9 goals and 10 points. The young center is completely locked in right now.
Defensively and in net, the Rangers continue to thrive. Keith Yandle, who has been subject to a plethora of trade rumors of late, leads the blue liners with 28 points so far while All-Star Ryan McDonagh sits just two points back. None of the Rangers typical starting six defensemen are a negative on the season and all six have at least 10 points. In net, Henrik Lundqvist continues to be a steady presence. He's gone 26-14-4 over 45 games, with a 2.37 goals against average.
It has been in the special teams area where New York has struggled. Their PK has been way down from its normal high, ranking 26th in the league entering tonight. Same with the power play which is successful at an abysmal 15.9% rate, third worse in the entire NHL. If the Penguins can get them away from 5-on-5 and into their special teams, the Pens could find some success.
The Rangers continue to plug along. Are they the "riches" team we usually see in the playoffs, or are they the "rags" team that some of the stats are currently showing. We will find out tonight...
The Lowdown on the Rangers:
- 30-18-5 overall on the season.
- Their 65 points is good for 2nd in the Metropolitan Division entering tonight.
- The Rangers are hot of late, winning 7 of 10 including three-straight.
- Despite struggles on special teams, the Rangers are a plus-16 in goal differential on the year.
- The Rangers PP and PK are both ranked in the bottom of the NHL (28th and 26th respectively).
- The road has been unkind to New York, as they are just 10-13-3 away from Madison Square Garden.
Scoring Leaders:
- C Derick Brassard - 40pts (18G-22A)
- RW Mats Zuccarello - 39pts (18G-21A)
- LW Rick Nash - 33pts (12G-21A)
- C JT Miller - 30pts (17G-13A)
- D Keith Yandle - 28pts (4G-24A)
Injury Report:
- D Ryan McDonagh (concussion) is OUT tonight. The Rangers captain was concussed during an incident Saturday with Philadelphia's Wayne Simmonds. McDonagh missed New York's previous game and his return is currently unknown.
- LW Rick Nash (lower-body) is OUT tonight. Nash has missed the last few game for the Rangers with a leg injury and is expected to be out the remainder of the week at the very least according to the team.
Projected Lines:
- JT Miller - Derick Brassard - Jesper Fast
- Chris Kreider - Derek Stepan - Mats Zuccarello
- Oscar Lindberg - Kevin Hayes - Viktor Stalberg
- Tanner Glass - Dominic Moore - Daniel Paille
Projected Pairings:
- Keith Yandle - Dan Girardi
- Marc Staal - Kevin Klein
- Dan Boyle - Dylan McIlrath
Henrik Lundqvist is expected to start in net for the Rangers tonight.
News & Notes Around the Penguins
- Evgeni Malkin (lower-body) will NOT play tonight or Friday according to HCMS. Sullivan stated it is not serious, but it is also not "day-to-day" at this point.
- No updates on Bennett, Fehr or Bonino.
Pens/Rangers Matchup Notes:
- First of four regular season matches between these two teams.
- The Rangers earned points in all four of last season's games, going 3-0-1 in the regular season series.
- New York also took the playoff matchup v. Pittsburgh 4 games to 1.
- Evgeni Malkin led all Penguins in scoring with 3 points. Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang each had two poitns.
- Marc-Andre Fleury was 1-2-1 v. NYR last year.
- Rick Nash, 4 goals and 7 points, led all Rangers scorers in the season series last year. Derick Brassard had five points in the matchups.
Miscellaneous Notes:
- The Penguins have a 6-game winning streak at Consol Energy Center entering tonight and they are unbeaten (8-0-2) in their last 10 at CEC.
- Pittsburgh is 12-4-4 since the Christmas Break.
- The Pens are 6-1-1 when wearing the Pittsburgh gold jerseys this season.
- Sidney Crosby enters tonight on a 7-game goal streak and 11-game points streak.
- Carl Hagelin has been great since coming over from Anaheim. He scored his first goal v. his old team on Monday, giving him six points in nine games for Pittsburgh.
- Chris Kunitz's 10th goal of the year Monday night give him 12 points in his last 9 games.
- Trevor Daley has seven points over his last 10 games.
#AskBigDave
This is a great question Robert. The trouble with decisions like Sprong's is they are made relatively too soon. We saw that Johnston didn't trust him enough to play him at all, and he hardly touched the ice after October. He got one day under Sullivan, before being sent back to juniors in the QMJHL.
Since his return to Juniors, Sprong has been on fire! He is more than a point per game player, with 9 goals and 27 points through 18 games for Charlottetown. Sprong had an eleven-game point streak to begin his return and has had 8 multi-point games thus far. Those are pretty solid numbers, despite the QMJHL not being on the same level as the OHL or WHL.
Now, was Daniel Sprong NHL ready? Probably not, but what he does have are great hands, good speed and is an immediate offensive threat. Not many Penguin draft picks have had that over the last few years. I personally would have liked to see him get a chance under Sullivan.
The issue Robert is at the time of the decision, they really did not need him. Everyone was healthy and it came down to him and Plotnikov for fourth line duty. The organization felt it was smarter for him to play 20 minutes per night, and I agreed with that. Knowing what we know now, and with a team full of injured forwards resulting in an AHL bottom six, I think it would have been great to have Sprong and see what he could do. But that is not an option now and we will work with what we have. I will say this though, Robert, I think Sprong could make this team again next season out of camp.
From Reedie on the Tweety: "Care to comment on Rob Rossi's list of top 5 NHL players entering the season?"
Sure, Reedie, why not? For those of you who have been blocked, muted or whatever by the man, Rob Rossi is apparently still a thing down there at the Trib. How? Beats the hell out of me considering the majority of his pieces reek of a teenager who didn't get their way and has to badmouth everyone in response. Let's face it, I run a free blog and have more credibility than that guy.
Now, that the personal Rossi bashing is over, lets talk about his Top 5 in the NHL list. Rossi had Jonathan Toews at number one, followed by Carey Price, Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, John Tavares/Drew Doughty as his top five.
It is not completely outrageous, but I still don't think he has it right. There is no questioning that Sidney Crosby is still the best player in the world and in this league. He is simply the best "all-around" player of his generation and could go down as one of the best ever. He had a slow start this year, but his last 24 games have proven that the real deal is still there. To have him that low on the list is frankly insulting, and it is just another example of Rossi being pissy with the organization. Four years ago, he never would have written anything so blasphemous of Sidney Crosby.
He's is not far off though when it comes to Jonathan Toews. As many of you know, I am a huge Toews fan. I love his leadership, his style of play and the level at which he plays. I think Jonathan Toews is honestly the best "two-way" forward on the planet. He can score, he can make great passes, he can work the net and then he will back check, forecheck and stop you defensively. He is key to every facet of Chicago's game. Rossi wasn't completely far off having him at number one. I have him in a close second behind Sid.
Ovechkin is also right on the money. Ovi has evolved his game over the last few years and is a better all-around players. But there is still no one out there who can score quite like him and at big times. I'd take Ovechkin over anyone but Sid and Toews at this point.
Carey Price is a good goaltender. He had a great year last year and has had a solid career. That being said, he is not a top five player in the NHL. Granted, he is his team's most valuable player, as evidenced by the way Montreal is playing at the moment without him, but he simply isn't top five. There are several goalies I would take ahead of Price, one of whom is in net for the Rags tonight.
As for the fourth spot, I'd probably have Steven Stamkos or Patrick Kane there, more likely Stamkos. He is a great all-around player and can score with as much regularity as Ovechkin. He is top five on almost everyone else's list, but leave it to Rossi to leave him off.
While both Tavares and Doughty are elite players, I again don't agree with Rossi. Doughty isn't the best defenseman in the league, period. I'd have the likes of PK Subban, Duncan Keith, Kris Letang, and especially Erik Karlsson ahead of him. In fact, I'd have Erik Karlsson as the number five player in the league without batting an eye. He's that talented and only getting better.
So Reedie, I'd say that Rossi's list is bull-honkey just like the majority of the stuff he writes.
From Rob A. on the Tweeter: "What would you do with Ian Cole, Sergei Plotnikov?"
Good question Rob, and one I'm sure many out there have.
Let me start with Sergei Plotnikov. I feel bad for this kid. He bought his way out of the KHL to come play in North America. He was supposed to be the answer on the Malkin line and it just never happened. Mostly, because Mike Johnston didn't have the patience to play the kid more than 8 minutes a night and let him play his style, which is not a fourth-line, checking style. Under Sullivan, he hasn't even gotten a chance. The staff seemed to imply that he needs to try harder in practice if he wants to play over the WBS guys. Frankly, I think it is a bunch of bologna; the kid works hard in practice, Sullivan just trusts the WBS guys more.
Now, what will the Penguins do with him? Nothing to be quite honest. They won't send him to WBS because they don't want to lose him, but I just don't see him every getting an opportunity here. Could he possibly be dealt in a trade this month? Maybe, but I doubt it. Most likely, he will be #PressBoxHero the remainder of the year before heading back to the KHL when his contract expires on July 1st.
As for Ian Cole, I don't know what you do with him. He has just been an absolute train wreck thus far. He has the worst plus/minus on the team (minus-17) by a big margin and he wasn't contributing anything to offense. A complete disappointment from what we saw down the stretch from him last season.
The problem with Cole is he has two more years left on his deal after this year. Luckily, his cap hit is just 2.1, so there is a possibility the Penguins could find a partner to trade with. However, with as poorly as he's played, I don't know who'd be willing to take him up even at that price. He is a bottom-pair guy at best and more of a 6/7th defenseman than a 5th. I don't know what happens with him, but unless there is an injury, I don't see him getting back in this lineup.
Projected Lines & Pairs
- Chris Kunitz - Sidney Crosby - Patric Hornqvist
- Carl Hageliln - Matt Cullen - Phil Kessel
- Tom Kuhnhackl - Oskar Sundqvist - Bryan Rust
- Scott Wilson - Kevin Porter - Conor Sheary
Pairs:
- Kris Letang - Olli Maatta
- Brian Dumoulin - Trevor Daley
- Ben Lovejoy - Derrick Pouliot
Marc-Andre Fleury is expected to start in net.
My 3 Keys to the Game
2. Baby Penguins: The bottom six comprised of the Wilkes-Barre guys played really well against Anaheim. They created some excellent chances and even scored a goal in the first period. I'm looking at guys like Wilson, Sundqvist, Pouliot, Sheary and Rust to have an impact tonight against the Rangers. If they can get another goal or two from these guys, the Pens should be golden.
3. Goalie Battle: This will be a game about the guys in net. Lundqvist v. Fleury, both elite, both playing solid entering tonight. The Rangers have a good record against Fleury, but the Flower hasn't let up many goals in those games. Lundqvist has been very good as well, but has given up the occasional big night v. Pittsburgh. Should be fun to see what happens and I'll definitely be watching this battle tonight.
My 3 Penguins to Watch
2. Carl Hagelin: The newest Penguin will play another former team tonight in the Rangers. Monday, he scored a nifty goal against his most recent ex-team in the Ducks. I'd love to see Hags absolutely burn his old mates tonight and have a huge game. Don't think it's out of the question either.
3. Oskar Sundqvist: I really like what I saw from this kid v. Anaheim and reports are that he was good on the Florida swing too. Sundqvist is not going to score a ton, but he is going to play a similar style game to former fan favorite Jordan Staal defensively and away from the puck. He can be a real difference maker, especially against a rival like New York.
What to Know for Attending/Watching/Listening
- Puck drop is 8:00pm on Rivalry Night with the doors to CEC opening at 7:00pm.
- The Penguins will wear their alternate "Pittsburgh Gold" jerseys tonight.
- The Pens Gear Gameday Special is player name and number T's – just $21.99! There are also rumors of Pens Gear holding a 50% sale over the next five home games.
- “The Bulliest Dozer,” co-written by Penguins center Eric Fehr, is now available for sale at the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation’s silent auction stand outside of the First Niagara Club. This children’s book about why bullying doesn’t pay is signed by Fehr for just $20. You can also purchase the book by using the Foundation’s mobile bidding app at bidpal.net/pens.
- ITS TIME TO PARTY!!!! The man behind the goal song, Andrew WK, will be attending tonight's game and hosting according to his site. For more info, follow the link: http://andrewwk.com/news/andrew-wk-partying-hard-with-the-pittsburgh-penguins
What you need to know for WATCHING tonight's game:
- National broadcast tonight so NO ROOT coverage. NBCSN will cover the game this evening.
- Coverage begins at 7:00pm on NBCSN with game coverage beginning at 8:00pm.
What you need to know for LISTENING to tonight's game:
- 105.9 The X, the Penguins app, the Penguins website and iHeart Radio app are all places you can pick up the game tonight.
- Mike Lange and Phil Bourque will have the game call beginning at 8:00pm.
- Penguins Pregame will precede the game coverage at 7:00pm. Josh Getzoff will host.
- Penguins Hot Line will follow the game action.
Pens Points:
- Attending the Game: 50pts
- Merchandise Purchase: 10pts
- Concession Purchase: 10pts
- Pens Radio Net Keyword: 5pts