(SportsNetwork.com) – The Pittsburgh Penguins will try to avenge their most
lopsided loss of the season when they host the New York Rangers in Saturday’s
clash at Consol Energy Center.
The Penguins were slammed 5-0 in Tuesday’s tilt against the Rangers at Madison
Square Garden. It was the first meeting between the Metropolitan Division
rivals since New York beat Pittsburgh in seven games during last spring’s
Eastern Conference semifinals.
The setback halted the Pens’ winning streak at seven games and also marked the
first time Pittsburgh had lost by five goals since a 5-0 setback in Ottawa on
Dec. 23 of last season.
New York received goals from five different players to rout the Penguins and
Henrik Lundqvist stopped 33 shots for his third shutout of the season.
Not including the playoffs, the Rangers have won two straight and three of the
last five meetings against Pittsburgh. The Blueshirts also snapped a five-game
regular-season slide in the Steel City with a 4-3 shootout win over the Pens
on Feb. 7.
Pittsburgh was able to rebound with a win Friday, as it posted a 2-1
regulation decision in Toronto. Backup netminder Thomas Greiss stopped 30
shots to anchor the Penguins and Pascal Dupuis scored both goals in the win.
Dupuis notched the game-winner just 15 seconds into the third period, taking a
pass from Sidney Crosby before one-timing the puck past Jonathan Bernier for
his sixth goal of the season.
“He makes it easy for everybody,” said Dupuis about Crosby. “He’s the best in
the game. You just gotta find spots to get open.”
Marc-Andre Fleury will get the start in net tonight for the Pens and is
26-15-8 with a 2.74 goals against average versus the Rangers.
After posting its impressive win over the Pens, the Rangers lost for the third
time in four games when they dropped Thursday’s 4-3 shootout decision against
visiting Colorado. The setback gave the defending Eastern Conference champions
a 1-1-1 record on a three-game homestand.
The Blueshirts held a 3-2 edge over the Avalanche after 40 minutes, but Nathan
MacKinnon evened the score with a power-play marker in the third period and
Alex Tanguay provided the decisive goal in the shootout.
Tanguay hit the post late in overtime, but he wasn’t denied in the tiebreaker.
The third shooter for Colorado, Tanguay faked a shot to get Lundqvist down and
roofed the puck.
All three Rangers goals came in the second period with Derek Stepan, Dan
Girardi and Kevin Hayes each scoring. Lundqvist made 26 saves for New York.
New York can bring its road record this season to .500 with a win tonight, as
the Rangers currently are 2-3-0 away from Madison Square Garden.
