Penguins at Rangers
Although the Pittsburgh Penguins' 15-game winning streak is now history, Wednesday's road game against the New York Rangers still carries a great deal of weight. The Rangers fell into ninth place in the Eastern Conference after the rival New York Islanders recorded their fifth win in six outings on Tuesday. The Rangers ended their goalless drought as Derek Stepan tallied twice and captain Ryan Callahan recorded a four-point performance in a 4-2 victory over Winnipeg on Monday.
Pittsburgh's first game without Sidney Crosby did not go so well. With the captain sidelined indefinitely with a broken jaw, the Penguins' lone highlight came as a result of key acquisition Jarome Iginla scoring his first goal with Pittsburgh in a 4-1 loss to Buffalo on Tuesday. The setback was the Penguins' first since they dropped a 4-1 decision against Carolina on Feb. 28.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (28-9-0): Tomas Vokoun yielded a first-period goal to see his career-best shutout streak come to an end at 173 minutes, 6 seconds. The veteran netminder yielded three more tallies before being relieved by Marc-Andre Fleury in the second session. Vokoun may get the nod on Wednesday after turning in stellar performances versus the Rangers this season. After stopping 31 shots in a 6-3 win on Jan. 20, Vokoun made 28 saves in a 3-0 victory 11 days later.
ABOUT THE RANGERS (17-15-3): The Rangers acquired rugged left wing Ryane Clowe from San Jose on Tuesday for a bevy of draft picks. The Sharks obtained the Rangers' second-round selection in the 2013 draft, along with Florida's third-round pick and a conditional second-round selection in 2014. While the 6-2, 225-pound Clowe provides size, the 30-year-old failed to score a goal in 28 games with San Jose.
OVERTIME
1. Henrik Lundqvist has yielded a total of 10 goals en route to dropping all three decisions to Pittsburgh in 2013. The reigning Vezina Trophy winner has played much better of late, yielding just two goals in each of his last six starts.
2. Penguins LW Chris Kunitz, who set up Iginla's goal on Tuesday, has just one assist in three meetings with the Rangers.
3. New York RW Marian Gaborik has scored just two goals in his last 22 contests.