The New York Rangers play the Pittsburgh Penguins at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Monday in a matchup of Metropolitan Division rivals. The Rangers and Penguins have played two previous times, splitting those matchups. The Rangers come into this game with an 11-10-4 record but they are 6-2-1 vs. fellow Metropolitan Division teams. The Rangers are 8-5-3 at home, which should help them this game. The Penguins come into the game with a record of 18-6-2 and are 5-4-1 against division opponents. The Pens are 9-2-1 on the road this year.
The Rangers come into this game against one of the league’s best on a two game-losing streak with losses to the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Detroit Red Wings. During the last loss to the Red Wings, the Rangers finished 0-for-7 on the power play, including two third period 5-on-3s. Coach Alain Vigneault said at practice, “I believe you have to trust your players. You have to believe they can do the right thing at the right time, especially when you have seen them do it in the past. How long you go with that trust is a matter of feel and experience.”
The Rangers look to bounce back tonight so they are putting in goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who has been as inconsistent as the entire team. Lundqvist has a 2.70 GAA this season, well below his normal performances. However, in the two games, versus the Penguins he has only allowed two regulation goals on 71 shots.
New York has been very inconsistent thus far this season and their record in their last ten is a great example of that, where they are, 4-4-2. The only consistent piece of the Rangers thus far this season has been right winger Rick Nash who leads the team with 17 goals which is tied for second in the NHL with St. Louis Blues star Vladimir Tarasenko, behind Tyler Seguin of the Dallas Stars.
Henrik Lundqvist addressed the Rangers inconsistent play at practice, “We need points. We need wins. We need to win consistently.” When the Rangers are playing well, they are one of the best teams in the league but when they are not they look like they could not even beat the Edmonton Oilers.
The Penguins are one of the best teams in the NHL this season. However, they are coming off a 3-0 loss at the hands of the Vancouver Canucks, last Thursday followed by a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. After the loss, the players were itching to get back onto the ice coach Mike Johnston saying, “Following that game, I think everybody was anxious. Let’s just get back at it. Let’s play another one.”
Pittsburgh has been powered by their stars Sydney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Crosby leads the team with 34 points and 25 assists, while Malkin leads the team with 14 goals. The Penguins last game against the Rangers was a shootout win in Pittsburgh. The Penguins will be without Chris Kunitz, who is suffering from a foot injury, Pascal Dupuis, who is suffering from a blood clot, as well as Beau Bennett who is suffering from a lower body ailment.
In this game, the Penguins are just too much for the Rangers to handle and should hand the Rangers their third straight loss. The Penguins will beat the Rangers by a score 4-1, getting goals from Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Olli Maata and Rob Scuderi. The Rangers one goal will be by Rick Nash. The Pens will have silenced the Garden faithful for good by mid-way through the second period. After the game, this loss will force the Rangers into a player’s only meeting that will, try to be a season changer for the positive.