The Pittsburgh Penguins once again hit the road after losing the second game at home, 4-1 to the New York Islanders. The Penguins will make their second trip to Madison Square Garden to meet up with the New York Rangers. The Rangers are coming off a 2-1 victory over the rival Philadelphia Flyers.
When and where: Madison Square Garden (New York, NY); 7 p.m. et (ROOT Sports, MSG, NHL Network)
Season records: Penguins (3-3-0; 6 pts); Rangers (3-3-0; 6 pts)
Season series: Penguins lead 1-0
Last meeting: Back on January 20, the Penguins went into MSG and defeated the Rangers, 6-3, in their home opener. The Penguins were led by a two-goal effort from James Neal and thirty-one saves by Tomas Vokoun. Additional goals were contributed by Tyler Kennedy, Matt Niskanen, Pascal Dupuis, and Kris Letang. The game also featured a fight between Arron Asham and Tanner Glass two seconds into the game.
Who to keep an eye on:
1. Marian Gaborik: After being held scoreless for the first two games of the season, Marian Gaborik has turned up the heat as of late. Gaborik collected a hat trick against the Boston Bruins on January 23, and then added two goals against the Maple Leafs three days later. The Slovakian forward has eight points (5 goals, 3 assists) in his teams six games, good enough for thirteenth in the league.
2. Arron Asham, Mike Rupp, or Brian Boyle vs. Brooks Orpik: With less than a minute to go in their last meeting, Brooks Orpik laid a clean, but brutal hit on Chris Kreider. Kreider got up slowly, but was not injured from the hit. However, it will be interesting to see if the Rangers decide to send a response by going after Orpik with Asham, Rupp, or Boyle even though head coach John Tortorella had no issue with the hit.
Injuries:
Penguins: D Matt Niskanen (ankle)
Rangers: D Michael Sauer (concussion), RW Ryan Callahan (shoulder; out 10-14 days), LW Chris Kreider (ankle)
Former Penguins alert: RW Arron Asham, C Mike Rupp, C Benn Ferriero
Projected lines:
Penguins (via penguins.nhl.com)
Chris Kunitz-Sidney Crosby-Pascal Dupuis
Dustin Jeffrey-Evgeni Malkin-James Neal
Matt Cooke-Brandon Sutter-Tanner Glass
Craig Adams-Joe Vitale-Tyler Kennedy
Brooks Orpik-Paul Martin
Simon Despres-Kris Letang
Deryk Engelland-Robert Bortuzzo
Tomas Vokoun
Rangers (via empty netters)
Rick Nash-Brad Richards-Marian Gaborik
Carl Hagelin-Derek Stepan-Taylor Pyatt
Mike Rupp-Brian Boyle-Benn Ferriero
Stu Bickel-Jeff Halpern-Arron Asham
Ryan McDonagh-Dan Girardi
Marc Staal-Michael Del Zotto
Matt Gilroy-Anton Stralman
Henrik Lundqvist
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