Good evening everyone and welcome to the latest edition of the Big Dave's Pens Pregame. I welcome you all here today on Easter Sunday. I hope it was an excellent holiday to all of you who celebrate the weekend. Tonight, our Penguins continue their march toward the Stanley Cup Playoffs when they complete their season series with the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden in NYC.
Puck drops on this nationally televised affair at 7:30pm, but you can enjoy the Pregame starting now...
Tonight's "Big Dave's Gameday Jams" comes from one of my favorite musical collaborations of all-time. As many of you long time followers know, I am a huge Jay-Z fan. I'm not a big rap guy, but there is something about Jay that I really like. I am also a big Linkin Park fan. Hybrid Theory was one of my favorite albums as a kid and it remains so to this day. In 2004, these two got together for a mash-up album that really is just phenomenal! I highly recommend it. The song I chose for tonight is the mashup of each artists bigger hits. For Linkin Park, it's "Numb," while for Jay it's "Encore." Enjoy!
The State of the Penguins
The Penguins entered Saturday's showdown with the struggling Red Wings coming off their first loss in a couple weeks. They had loss Olli Maatta for "a few weeks" just the day before and were wondering whether they would be without Nick Bonino for this game as well. Luckily, Bonino not only played, but had a career game.
Pittsburgh annihilated the Red Wings on this night by the final score of 7-2. It was a well played game by the Penguins overall, but it was a superb game played by the second line of Carl Hagelin, Phil Kessel and Bonino.
That aforementioned trio posted four goals and 12 points over the final forty minutes of the game. Nick Bonino, who has been a disappointment for the majority of the season, had a career-game with a goal and four assists on the afternoon in 16:44. Carl Hagelin got them started when he sniped home a shot at 11:58 of the second period. It would be the first of his two goals on the game. Finally, "The Phil" had himself a ballgame when he scored one of his patented "streak down the wing" goals, while also adding four assists on the day.
The only downside to this game were the injuries sustained. Chris Kunitz got hit up high by Pavel Datsyuk in the second period. He was very slow to get up and did not return to the game. His status tonight is still uncertain, but post-game reports stated he'd likely be in the lineup. The same cannot be said for defenseman Brian Dumoulin. The rookie defenseman took a hit in the first period that drew blood. After some repairs, he returned for the rest of the period before missing the remainder of the game. He has already been ruled out for tonight.
Speaking of tonight, it is another huge game for the Penguins. They finish off their regular season series with the Rangers tonight at MSG. If the Penguins could win this game, they will have taken three straight over the Rangers heading into what is likely to be another playoff showdowns between the two teams. Should be another fun ride...
Lookin Over Their Shoulders: The NY Rangers
New York has not played their best hockey over the last few weeks, but nevertheless, they continue to hold down the second spot in Metropolitan division. They have gone 5-3-2 over their past 10 games, including a loss to us just a couple weeks back.
One of the surprising things about the Rangers of late, has been the play of their Vezina winning goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. The "King" has gone 3-2-3 over his last 8 starts and has three or more goals in each of those five losses. Without the King on his game, the Rangers will not simply stroll through their schedule as they normally would.
New York enters tonight's game on the heels of a two game win streak. They took down the Bruins in Boston last night by a final of 5 to 2. Lundqvist got the win in net, just his third over his last eight starts. Meanwhile, the big names on the forward corps had themselves a night, seeing Miller, Nash, Brassard, Zuccarello and Stepan each score a goal against a split net of Rask and Gustavsson. Derek Stepan actually had a three point night.
This is a big game for both hockey clubs tonight. The Penguins look to take another important game over a Metropolitan rival. In fact, a win would get the Penguins within two points of second place in the division and home ice in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Rangers hope to weather the storm and hold on to that spot. It should be quite the Easter Sunday showdown at Madison Square Garden...
What You Need to Know About the Rangers:
- 42-24-8 overall record.
- The Rangers currently have the second best record in the division and the Eastern Conference with their 92 points.
- New York has won two straight, but gone 5-3-2 over their last 10 games.
- The Garden has been a fortress for the Rangers this year, as they are 25-8-3 at home.
Scoring Leaders:
- RW Mats Zuccarello - 56pts (24G-32A)
- C Derick Brassard - 54pts (26G-28A)
- D Keith Yandle - 42pts (5G-37A)
- C Derek Stepan - 42pts (17G-25A)
- C JT Miller - 40pts (20G-20A)
Injury Report:
- D Dylan McIlrath (lower-body) is OUT tonight. The young defenseman has missed most of March with a knee injury, but he has been skating and could return over the next week.
Projected Lines:
- Chris Kreider - Derick Brassard - Rick Nash
- JT Miller - Derek Stepan - Mats Zuccarello
- Kevin Hayes - Eric Staal - Jesper Fast
- Tanner Glass - Dominic Moore - Viktor Stalberg
Projected Pairs:
- Ryan McDonagh - Kevin Klein
- Keith Yandle - Dan Girardi
- Marc Staal - Dan Boyle
I expect Antti Raanta to be in net tonight with Lundqvist playing last night, but that is not confirmed.
News & Notes From the Pens
- D Brian Dumoulin (upper-body) is OUT tonight. Dumoulin took a hit in the first period of yesterday's game. He played out the period, but didn't return and was declared out in the post-game.
- LW Chris Kunitz (upper-body) is a game-time decision tonight. Kunitz took a high hit in the second period yesterday and did not return. The post-game reports were optimistic, but we will just have to wait and see what happens tonight.
Pens/Rangers Matchup Notes:
- The final regular season matchup between these two teams.
- The Penguins have won the last two matchups.
- Sidney Crosby leads the Penguins in scoring v. New York with three points.
- Derek Stepan leads the Rangers in scoring v. Pittsburgh with three points.
Miscellaneous Notes:
- The Penguins have won four straight road games heading into tonight.
- The second period has been great to the Penguins, where they have scored 64 goals under Mike Sullivan compared to 33 in the first period and 43 in the second.
- Phil Kessel recorded his 300th NHL assist in yesterday's win in Detroit.
- Nick Bonino and Phil Kessel each recorded 5-point games in yesterday's win over Detroit. They became the first Penguins to accomplish that feat on the road since Mario Lemieux and Ron Francis in March 1997.
- Nick Bonino recorded a career high 5-point game in yesterday's win, including the first time he recorded four assists in a game.
- Carl Hagelin has 12 points (6G-6A) over his last 13 games played, and currently has 5 game-winning goals with the team.
Projected Lines & Pairs
- Chris Kunitz - Sidney Crosby - Patric Hornqvist
- Carl Hagelin - Nick Bonino - Phil Kessel
- Tom Kuhnhackl - Matt Cullen - Bryan Rust
- Conor Sheary - Eric Fehr - Beau Bennett
Pairs:
- Trevor Daley - Kris Letang
- Derrick Pouliot - Ben Lovejoy
- Ian Cole - Justin Schultz
Marc-Andre Fleury will get the start in net tonight.
My 3 Keys to the Game
2. Power Play: We saw TWO power play goals in yesterday's win over Detroit. Yes, you actually read that right. We need to see more of that today and moving forward, regardless of who is on that unit. It is imperative that the Penguins cash in on at least one chance a game; they truly go a long way.
3. Second Line: The line of Kessel-Hagelin-Bonino posted four goals and 12 points yesterday. While that output is hard to live up to game-in, and game-out, they really need to be consistent and not only create good chances, but cash in on them more often. It not only helps the team's numbers, but it frees up Sid and the top line from total isolation from the opponent.
My 3 Penguins to Watch
2. Derrick Pouliot: The prized prospect returns to the lineup after roughly a month hiatus due to Brian Dumoulin's injury. It will be interesting to see how he plays, but I don't expect a long leash for him. I figure we will see him get about 15-17 minutes tonight and try to get him the right matchup. Despite the talent and what the organization is saying publicly, it is glaringly obvious that they don't trust this kid as much as Schultz, Lovejoy or Cole.
3. Conor Sheary: The speedy little fellow has been relatively quiet of late. I'd like to see him have a big game, especially since his numbers against the Rangers are really good this year. In the last matchup, he scored two goals against King Henry. I'd love to see a repeat performance by the rookie.
What to Know for Watching/Listening
- The game will be nationally televised on NBCSN and should be called by Doc Emrick and Eddie Olczyk starting at 7:30pm.
Here is what you need to know if you're 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 7:30pm.
- Penguins Pregame will precede the game coverage at 6:30pm. Josh Getzoff will host.
- Penguins Hot Line will follow the game action.
Pens Points:
- Pens Radio Keyword: 5pts