Monday, January 14, 2008

Rangers vs. Penguins Preview

Tonight the New York Rangers (21-19-5) visit the Pittsburgh Penguins (25-16-3). For the Rangers, Jaromir Jagr has five goals and seven assists in his last nine games. He has 15 goals and 16 assists against his former team, though he hasn't scored a goal in his last five against Pittsburgh. Only two teams have scored fewer than New York's 108 goals. Pittsburgh is 8-0-1 since Dec. 23, and 17-5-1 since Thanksgiving, but the Penguins have struggled all season against their four division rivals. They're 4-10-1 against Atlantic opponents, including 1-2-1 against the Rangers. For a full preview go to Yahoo! Sports.

...after a five game losing streak it would be nice for this team to start a winning streak. They need it.

...I was very encouraged by the effort Saturday night and hopefully the players realize that if they play hard for 60 minutes they're going to be a tough team to beat.

...I'm assuming with Saturday's success, we're not going to see any changes in the lineup unless Shanahan is feeling better.

...really hoping the third line of Dawes-Dubinsky-Prucha can carry over their spirited play from Saturday night into tonight's game. I can't imagine there is another team in the NHL that has received less production from their third line.

...hoping to see Lundqvist back between the pipes.

...we're going to need another complete effort tonight as the Penguins come in as one of the hottest teams in the league. They're riding the stellar goaltending of Ty Conklin (9-0-1 with a 1.56 goals-against average and two shutouts), who they pulled off the scrap heap about a month ago. While Conklin is playing well, he's never been consistent and if we can get to him early I think we have a great chance.

...I'll have more later.

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