Yea, the Rangers fell victim to the trap game last night against Edmonton. It happens. The more important thing here is that they played their stinker against a non-conference team. If there’s a silver lining, that’s it. The Rangers wrap up the pre-Olympics schedule in Pittsburgh tonight, taking on the division leading Penguins. The Pens have gotten unusually strong –and consistent– goaltending from Marc-Andre Fleury. They’ve also had a full year of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, which is helping them succeed despite dressing the blue line from Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Dan Bylsma has the Penguins running an aggressive 2-1-2 forecheck in the offensive zone and encourages puck pursuit in most situations. In the defensive zone, Pittsburgh uses a zone defense, taking out lanes and protecting the slot. The Pens are ranked 5th in the league in blocked shots and still average over 3 goals a game. Minds blown. On special teams, they run a 1-3-1 power play and a diamond force penalty kill.
Rangers Lineup:
Chris Kreider–Derek Stepan–Rick Nash
Carl Hagelin–Brad Richards–Ryan Callahan
Benoit Pouliot–Derick Brassard–Mats Zuccarello
Brian Boyle–Dominic Moore-Dan Carcillo
Ryan McDonagh–Dan Girardi
Marc Staal–Anton Stralman
John Moore–Kevin Klein
Henrik Lundqvist gets the start.
Scratches/Injuries: Derek Dorsett (broken leg), Justin Falk (healthy)
Game time is 7pm on MSG2 (seriously?). Don’t forget to check out our Rangers Tickets link for deals to attend games
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