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Rangers face Penguins looking for third win in a row |
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The Rangers look to make it three in a row tonight at MSG against the Penguins. Pittsburgh, for the first time in 229 games, will be without Sidney Crosby, who joins Evgeni Malkin on the sidelines. This is the first time since November 13, 2021 that both have missed a contest at the same time. New York closes out their per-Four Nations Faceoff schedule tomorrow in Columbus.
Rangers lines vs: Penguins
Panarin-Miller-Zibanejad
Smith-Trocheck-Lafrenière
Kreider-Brodzinski-Cuylle
Vesey-Carrick-Rempe
Lindgren-Fox
Miller-Borgen
Jones-Schneider
ShesterkinQuick
Scratches: Edström (lower-body injury), Vaakanainen (illness). Kaliyev
On paper, New York should pick up the win. But we all know games are not played on paper. If the Blueshirts play defensively as they did Wednesday versus the Bruins, they should end up on the positive side of the ledger. The key is not to look past the opponent with the Kid and Geno out and focus on the jerseys and not those in them.
A win today and tomorrow will have the Blueshirts on the fringes of a playoff spot heading into the break. Given all the rightful negativity and concern during the 4-15-0 stretch, their strong start brought the team a bit of a buffer. But the current uptick in play, which started prior to the JT Miller trade, but has certainly been accelerated by it, is a more tangible reason why hope now exists at MSG.
The Blueshirts still have a long way to go. Losing Adam Edstrom won't help their chances, making Jimmy Vesey important again. Jonny Brodzinski needs to step up until a trade is made to bring in a true 3C. The defense has been better, though gaps still exist, as we have seen. Performances like Wednesday evidence that the system can be effective when all five players on the ice are in sync.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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