(@schaetz23) The New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins will begin a crucial home-and-home tonight at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers beat the Jets 4-2 Monday night at MSG, but they do not have time to enjoy the win with the number one team in the conference coming to town.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have been red-hot lately, and that might even be an insult to how they're playing. Last night the Penguins 15 game winning streak was ended by the Buffalo Sabres 4-1, their first loss since the month of February. Now the Penguins must try to re-group and begin a new streak, and without their captain Sidney Crosby.
The Penguins have found great success against their division rivals, taking the last seven contests and shutouts in their last two meetings. The Penguins have not lost at Madison Square Garden since November 30, 2011 when the Rangers erupted for four goals in the second period, and held on for a 4-3 victory. Since that game the Penguins are 4-0 and have outscored the Blueshirts 19-6.
With Sidney Crosby out with a broken jaw, the Pens will look for Evgeni Malkin and newly acquired Jarome Iginla to lead the Penguins attack. The Penguins also went out and got Jussi Jokinen from the Carolina Hurricanes for a 2013 pick.
The Rangers also went out and acquired winger Ryane Clowe from the San Jose Sharks for a 2013 second- and third-round pick, and a conditional 2014 second round pick. Clowe is yet to score this season, but the Rangers think he will bring toughness and depth to the lineup. Clowe will be in the lineup tonight as John Tortorella has sent J.T Miller and Chris Kreider down to the Connecticut Whale. According to reports this move has also been made to make room for a possible trade for a defenseman right before the deadline today at 3 p.m.
The line of Rick Nash, Ryan Callahan, and Derek Stepan exploded the other night for four goals. Look for this line to stay together for tonight's game as the Rangers search for consistent offense from their top forwards. Aside from these three, Tortorella is still looking for Marian Gaborik and Brad Richards to get in a scoring groove, but there is only so much the Tortorella can do. It is up to Gaborik and Richards to find a way to put the puck in the net.
The puck drops at 7:30 p.m tonight at what should be a raucous Madison Square Garden crowd. The Rangers and their fans know that every game from now until the playoffs begin is essentially a playoff game, so there is no room for any losses at this point.
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