Penguins at Rangers
Evgeni Malkin remains in hot pursuit of the Hart (MVP), Maurice "Rocket" Richard (NHL's leading goal scorer) and Art Ross (most points) trophies, and his consistent production has the Pittsburgh Penguins gearing up for another postseason run. Malkin looks to extend his point streak to a season-high seven contests on Wednesday as the Penguins open a three-game road trip versus the New York Rangers.
Malkin netted his team-leading 39th goal in Sunday's 3-1 win over Dallas, giving him three tallies and eight assists during his current point streak and boosting his point total to 24 (nine goals, 15 assists) in his last 13 games. The 2012 Hart Trophy recipient rocked the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 17, notching three assists before scoring 58 seconds into overtime of a 5-4 triumph. While Pittsburgh has won four of five to reside one point behind first-place Washington in the Metropolitan, New York is languishing in the division's cellar with losses in 10 of 14 (4-8-2) despite Jimmy Vesey netting his first career hat trick in Monday's 6-3 victory over Carolina. "I think just in general the mood is always better when you win. Everyone is in higher spirits," the former Hobey Baker Award recipient said. "No one is going to take it easy on us just because we have a young lineup or anything like that."
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ABOUT THE PENGUINS (40-26-4): Matt Murray was a full participant in practice on Tuesday for the first time since sustaining a concussion Feb. 26, when he took a puck off his mask from defenseman Olli Maatta. "He's making progress," coach Mike Sullivan said. "We're encouraged with his progress. We take each day as it comes with the nature of those injuries." Bryan Rust changed jerseys from gray (no-contact) to yellow (regular) during Tuesday's practice and aims to return from a two-game absence after receiving a concussion following a hit from Philadelphia defenseman Robert Hagg last Wednesday.
ABOUT THE RANGERS (31-32-7): Mats Zuccarello tallied twice on Monday to extend his goal-scoring streak to three games and reach the 100-goal plateau. The 30-year-old Norwegian has 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) in his last 20 encounters versus Pittsburgh and is tied with David Desharnais with a team-best three points against the Penguins this season. Fellow forward Pavel Buchnevich set a career high with three assists against the Hurricanes to push his team-leading point total at home to 28 (nine goals, 19 assists).
OVERTIME
1. Captain Sidney Crosby has 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in his past 14 games heading into Wednesday's tilt versus New York, against which he has two goals and an assist this season.
2. Rangers C Mika Zibanejad matched a personal best by setting up three goals on Monday, giving him six points (two goals, four assists) in his last four outings after mustering just two in his previous 10.
3. Pittsburgh RWs Phil Kessel (three goals, three assists) and Patric Hornqvist (three goals, two assists) have scored a goal in each contest versus New York this season.