Going into Sunday’s (Nov. 19) game against the Vegas Golden Knights, dread seemed like a natural feeling for the Pittsburgh Penguins’ fanbase. After all, the defending Stanley Cup champions were in town and had managed to avoid any Stanley Cup hangover, while the Penguins were flat, having dropped their previous two games to the New Jersey Devils and Carolina Hurricanes.
Instead, the Penguins played one of their best, full-team effort games of the season, shutting out the Golden Knights 3-0. For much of the season, the story had been their inability to get offense outside their top two forward lines. This time, however, they got goals from Ryan Graves and Noel Acciari. Alex Nedeljkovic gave the Penguins their fifth shutout in 17 games. They had two all last season.
But it doesn’t get any easier for the 9-8-0 Penguins. Tonight (Nov. 22) they face off at home against the 12-3-1 New York Rangers. One might have expected the Rangers to slow down after losing star defenseman Adam Fox, but they have gone 4-1-1 since he landed on injured reserve. However, their one regulation loss was Monday (Nov. 20) night, by a score of 6-3 on the road to the Dallas Stars. Still, with the Penguins’ current bill of health, tonight will be a challenge.
Setting the Stage: Lineups, Injuries & Stats
In the wake of the big victory over the Golden Knights, a wave of injuries has hit the Penguins. Vinnie Hinostroza had already been out with a lower-body injury, and Pierre-Olivier Joseph landed on injured reserve with an undisclosed injury. But now joining them are Chad Ruhwedel and Rickard Rakell.
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To fill those holes, the Penguins recalled forwards Alex Nylander and Jansen Harkins and defenseman John Ludvig from Wilkes-Barre of the American Hockey League (AHL).
Injuries
- Penguins: Will Butcher (undisclosed, the Penguins placed Butcher on injured reserve), Vinnie Hinostroza (lower body), Pierre-Olivier Joseph (undisclosed, the Penguins placed Joseph on injured reserve), Mark Pysyk (lower body, the Penguins placed Pysyk on injured reserve), Rickard Rakell (the Penguins placed Rakell on injured reserve), Chad Ruhwedel (the Penguins placed Ruhwedel on injured reserve), Bryan Rust (according to coach Mike Sullivan, Rust is being evaluated for a lower-body injury and is out indefinitely)
- Rangers: Filip Chytil (the Rangers announced that Chytil (upper body) has been placed on injured reserve), Adam Fox (the Rangers announced that Fox (lower body) has been placed on long-term injured reserve)
Interesting Stats and Facts
- With an assist on Evgeni Malkin’s empty net goal to clinch the game against the Golden Knights, Jake Guentzel now has the Penguins’ longest active scoring streak with four goals and 12 points in eight games. He continues to lead the team with 15 assists and is second with 21 points in 17 games.
- Despite getting blanked for only the second time this season, Sidney Crosby remains dangerous. His 12 goals through 17 games are the second-best start of his career, and his 22 points lead the Penguins. Against the Rangers, he has 104 points in 82 games.
- For the Rangers, Artemi Panarin may have seen his scoring streak snapped against Dallas, but he has been a force with 10 goals, 16 assists, and 26 points through 16 games. He is four points off Quinn Hughes for the NHL lead in points in three fewer games. He has been deadly on the power play with nine assists and 11 points.
- Chris Kreider has been a beneficiary of Panarin’s power play passing, having scored six of his 10 goals with the man advantage. Kreider is tied with the Vancouver Canucks’ twin threat of Brock Boeser and J.T. Miller for the NHL lead in that category, and the Rangers are second in the league with a 32.7% efficiency on the power play.
- Tristan Jarry will likely get the nod tonight, looking to rebound after giving up three goals on 33 shots in a 4-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. On the season he is 6-7-0 with a 2.59 goals-against average (GAA) and a .910 SV% with three shutouts. In a small sample size, Nedeljkovic looks to be back to his days as a Hurricane. He is now 2-1-0 with a 2.00 GAA and .944 SV%. And in a three-day span, he scored a goal in an AHL game before earning a shutout in the NHL.
- For the Rangers, it’s Igor Shesterkin’s net, despite surrendering four goals on 34 shots (.882 SV%) against Dallas. He is now 7-3-0 with a 2.60 GAA and .908 SV%. Shesterkin likes playing the Penguins, with his 7-4-1 record with a 2.01 GAA, .929 SV%, and two shutouts. However, Jonathan Quick is having a career renaissance, going 4-0-1 with a league-best 1.98 GAA and a solid .928 SV%. He also has the Rangers’ only shoutout.
Penguins vs. Rangers Storylines
If Rust is out, even for precautionary measures, and Rakell is out of the lineup, the Penguins have some lineup juggling to do. Though Crosby, Guentzel, and Malkin can carry their lines, they will need players like Radim Zohorna, Lars Eller, and the callups, Nylander and Harkins, to produce.
Meanwhile, the Rangers are cooking. Vincent Trocheck has a six-game streak with 11 points, and Erik Gustafsson has stepped into the void left by Fox. In his six-game streak, Gustafsson has seven assists and eight points.
This is the first of three meetings between the two conference rivals, with their next game during the final playoff stretch run in March. After tonight, the Golden Knights will visit the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday (Nov. 24), and the Penguins will visit the Buffalo Sabres on Friday. The puck drops tonight at 7:00 PM EST.