Mike Sullivan will coach his first game with the New York Rangers in their regular-season opener on Tuesday night in the odd circumstance of being much more familiar with the team he’s trying to defeat than the one he’s running.
Sullivan spent the past 10 seasons coaching the Pittsburgh Penguins, who will be trying to spoil opening night for their old coach when they step onto the ice at Madison Square Garden. His decade with the Penguins included the highs of winning the Stanley Cup in 2016 and 2017 – and the lows of missing the playoffs in each of his last three seasons.