After taking care of Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals two nights ago, the Blueshirts will look to do so against Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and the rest of the Pittsburgh Penguins this afternoon. Much has been made of the Rangers’ post-break schedule, with today’s matinee being the second out of 16 divisional games over the final 32 games of the season for Gerard Gallant’s squad.
New York is currently ahead of Pittsburgh by one point for second place in the Metropolitan Division, and the Blueshirts have two games in hand. However, a scheduling quirk has resulted in today’s meeting being the first time all season these division rivals are meeting, and they’ll meet another three times in March.