New York Rangers GameDay: Shesterkin will try and get Blueshirts to .500 against high powered Penguins
The Rangers and Igor Shesterkin will take on the Penguins in Pittsburgh for the start of their first road trip of the season. Face-off is set for 7:00 p.m. ET as the team tries to even their record after a 4-3 loss to the Devils.
(TV: MSG+, Radio: ESPN 98.7 FM).
Rangers: 1-2-0 (2 pts)
Penguins: 2-2-0 (4 pts)
Note: Rangers will have an optional morning skate at 11:30 a.m. at PPG Paints Arena. Coach David Quinn and some select players will speak around 12:30 today.
New York Rangers vs Pittsburgh Penguins: Zibanejad ok, Lafreniere to the top line, DeAngelo play?
Mika Zibanejad skated and looked healthy yesterday. He will center a new line with Alexis Lafreniere on the left and Chris Kreider on the right.
This is the center I wanted to see Lafreniere play with. Alexis vision and passing ability should help Zibanejad who has a great shot and knack for scoring goals.
The second line will be new as well. Pavel Buchnevich will play with Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome. It’s a move Panarin is excited about, citing Buchnevich’s checking and passing ability. Both speaking Russian is also more comfortability.
The Rangers concluded yesterday’s practice with the third defense pairing of Jack Johnson and Tony DeAngelo. However, David Quinn refused to confirm if that meant DeAngelo was back in or not.
“We haven’t made any final decisions yet, that’ll happen tomorrow,” he said. If practice lines mean anything, Brendan Smith was the extra and DeAngelo will be back in and on PP2.
Pre Game Notes:
- All-Time vs Pittsburgh: 130-113-23-14 (72-54-9-7 at home; 58-59-14-7 on the road)
- 2020-21: The Rangers are playing Pittsburgh in the first of eight games between the two teams.
- 2019-20: The Rangers posted a 1-0-0 record (1-0-0 at home; 0-0-0 on the road), defeating the Penguins, 3-2, in overtime on Nov. 12 at MSG. Kaapo Kakko tallied two goals, including the game-winning goal in overtime, in the contest and became the first 18-year-old to register a multi-goal game for the Rangers in franchise history.
- The Rangers have earned at least one point in 19 of their last 28 games against the Penguins, dating back to Apr. 3, 2013 (13-9-6 record over the span).
- Eight of the last 11 meetings between the Rangers and Penguins have been decided by one goal, and five of those 11 contests have been decided in either overtime or a shootout. In addition, 11 of the last 27 meetings between the two teams have been decided in either overtime or a shootout.
- Artemi Panarin – 13 GP, 9-7-16 – Panarin has tallied a point in 10 of 13 career games against the Penguins, and he has posted six multi-point games, including three multi-goal games.
- Tony DeAngelo – 5 GP, 0-5-5 – DeAngelo has recorded an assist/point in each of his last four games against Pittsburgh (five assists over the span).
- Kaapo Kakko – 1 GP, 2-0-2 – Kakko registered two goals, including the game-winning goal in overtime, in his first career game against the Penguins on Nov. 12, 2019 at MSG. He became the first 18-year-old to register a multi-goal game for the Rangers in franchise history.
- Adam Fox – 1 GP, 1-1-2 – Fox recorded two points (one goal, one assist) in his first career game against Pittsburgh on Nov. 12, 2019 at MSG.
*Pre Game Notes courtesy of the NYR
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