About the Rangers - 03-20-11
A preview of the Rangers.
When and where: 12:30 p.m, Consol Energy Center.
TV: NBC, NHL Network (Canada).
Record: 38-30-4, 80 points. The Rangers are in seventh place in the Eastern Conference and third place in the Atlantic Division.
Leading Scorer: Brandon Dubinsky, 47 points (20 goals, 27 assists).
Last Game: 6-3 home win against the Canadiens, Friday. Artem Anisimov, Dan Girardi and Vaclav Prospal each had a goal and an assist for the Rangers.
Last Game against the Penguins: 5-3 home win, Feb. 13. Marc-Andre Fleury made 26 saves for the Penguins.
Rangers Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Ryan Callahan (above). He has six points in five games against the Penguins.
Ex-Penguins on the Rangers: Erik Christensen, C; Ruslan Fedotenko, LW; Chad Johnson (Johnson was a Penguins prospect but never actually played for the Penguins at any level); Rick Kehoe, professional scout.
Ex-Rangers on the Penguins: Phil Bourque, broadcaster; Pascal Dupuis, RW; Bob Errey, broadcaster; Tony Granato, assistant coach; Alex Kovalev, RW; Kevin Stevens, professional scout.
Useless Rangers Trivia Vaguely Related to the Penguins: Kovalev (1991) is one of five former first-round picks of the Rangers who have played for the Penguins. The others are Ron Duguay (1977), Steve Durbano (1971), Peter Ferraro (1992) and Chris Kontos (1982).
Best Rangers Video We Could Find: Lets go with an oldie but a goodie. The old Sasson Jeans commercial featuring former Rangers Dugay, Phil Esposito, Ander Hedberg and Dave Maloney:
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Probable goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury (31-17-5, 2.35 GAA, .918 SV%) for the Penguins and Henrik Lundqvist (30-24-4, 2.35 GAA, .920 SV%) or Chad Johnson (0-0-0, 0.00 GAA .000 SV%) for the Rangers.
Injuries: For the Penguins, For the Penguins, forward Mark Letestu (shoulder) is doubtful. Forwards Mike Comrie (hip), Sidney Crosby (concussion), Nick Johnson (concussion), Evgeni Malkin (knee), Eric Tangradi (concussion) and defenseman Brooks Orpik (finger) are on injured reserve. For the Rangers, goaltender Henrik Lundqvist (neck) is questionable. Forwards Derek Boogaard (concussion), Chris Drury (knee), Alex Frolov (knee) and goaltender Martin Biron (shoulder) are on injured reserve.
Potential lines and defensive pairings: The Penguins lines and defensive pairings at practice yesterday were (PG+):
James Neal - Dustin Jeffrey - Alex Kovalev
Chris Kunitz - Jordan Staal - Tyler Kennedy
Matt Cooke - Maxime Talbot - Pascal Dupuis
Mike Rupp - Craig Adams - Chris Conner
Arron Asham - Mike Comrie - Eric Godard
Zbynek Michalek - Paul Martin
Kris Letang - Matt Niskanen
Deryk Engelland - Ben Lovejoy
-The Rangers primary lines and defensive pairings against the Canadiens Friday were:
Brandon Dubinsky - Artem Anisimov - Ryan Callahan
Vinny Prospal - Erik Christensen - Marian Gaborik
Wojtek Wolski - Derek Stepan - Mats Zuccarello
Ruslan Fedotenko - Brian Boyle - Brandon Prust
Marc Staal - Dan Girardi
Ryan McDonagh - Mike Sauer
Bryan McCabe - Steve Eminger
Notes:
-Welcome back Arron Asham.
-Kovalev has 349 career points with the Penguins.
-Staal has 97 career assists.
-Letang has 96 career assists.
-Lundqvist did not practice yesterday.
-Our live blog begins at 11:30 a.m. Please tune in.
(Photo: Rob Carr/Getty Images)