Penguins at Rangers
The New York Rangers were ushered out of the playoffs by Pittsburgh in the opening round in 2015-16 and appeared bent on sending a message to the Penguins in their first meeting this season. After erupting for five unanswered goals in a 5-2 win at Pittsburgh on Monday night, the Rangers host the Penguins in a rematch on Wednesday.
The highest-scoring team in the NHL, New York spotted Pittsburgh a pair of early goals before roaring back to open a four-point lead over the Penguins atop the Metropolitan Division. "We know a lot about this team because we played them so much over the last handful of years," Rangers forward J.T. Miller, who netted the go-ahead tally in Monday's win, told reporters. "I think we were on our heels a little too much to start, a little too passive." The reigning Stanley Cup champions have dropped four of six overall and allowed 17 goals in those losses, but are not putting too much stock in Monday's result. "What's most important, from our standpoint, is how we react to it," Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan told reporters. "That's the lesson we need to learn from this game."
TV: 7 p.m. ET, ROOT (Pittsburgh), MSG (New York)
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (11-5-3): Monday's setback spoiled an otherwise storybook NHL debut for Pittsburgh's Jake Guentzel, who had a pair of goals and became the fifth player in franchise history to score on his first shift. "He's got real good offensive instincts," Sullivan said of Guentzel. "We're really excited about him as a player." At the other end of the spectrum, forward Patric Hornqvist has missed three straight games with a concussion and will not accompany the team to New York.
ABOUT THE RANGERS (14-5-1): Captain Ryan McDonagh remains in search of his first goal, but he set up a pair of tallies Monday to boost his team-leading assist total to 13. McDonagh also registered a career-high plus-five for the game, becoming the first New York blue-liner to post that number since Darius Kasparaitis in December 2003. After a slow start to the season, forward Kevin Hayes has scored seven goals in his last 11 games to move into a tie with Miller for the team lead with 18 points.
OVERTIME
1. Rangers G Henrik Lundqvist will make his 60th start and go for his 30th win against Pittsburgh.
2. Penguins G Matt Murray, 5-1-0 with a 1.68 goals-against average, gave up four goals in three playoff games versus New York.
3. Rangers F Rick Nash scored his 12th goal in 25 games against the Penguins on Monday night.