Rangers vs. Penguins
New York -130 vs. Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh has not been able to duplicate their winning ways from earlier this season in recent weeks. Since beating Buffalo on November 15, the Penguins (14-6-3) have alternated losses and wins ever since. Fortunately for Pittsburgh, the team they have been chasing, the Rangers, have not been winning consistently either. The two top teams within the Atlantic Division will meet up at Madison Square Garden tonight.
New York (17-8-2) had its three game winning streak snapped Sunday with an inexcusable shutout loss to the hapless Florida Panthers in a very listless home effort. Prior to the Rangers modest three game upswing, they had lost two straight.
While Pittsburgh has been rather inconsistent lately, Sidney Crosby has sprung to life. He has shaken off a slow start to catch fire with six goals in the last three contests and earned his second career hat trick in Saturday's 4-1 home victory over New Jersey.
Even though Crosby was struggling, the Pens were flying high because of Evgeni Malkin. The NHL's best with 39 points, Malkin has been on the score sheet, through at least one goal or assist, in 21 of Pittsburgh's 23 games. However, the lethal duo has not excelled in Madison Square Garden. The Penguins have lost six straight there and are 2-7-3 in their last 12 in New York.
New York returned home to play the Panthers Saturday after a Thanksgiving weekend trip to Florida to play the Lightning in Tampa and the opening of a home-and-home set in Miami. In both games the Rangers needed to go to a shootout to claim victory, 3-2 over Tampa Bay and 4-3 over Florida.
The 4-0 loss to Florida forced Henrik Lundqvist from the net after the Panthers scored the third goal. Lundqvist has had an outstanding season by compiling 15 wins, best in the Eastern Conference. He has dominated Pittsburgh with a lifetime 9-4-2 record and 1.89 goals against average.
The Rangers won the first game over the Penguins this season on October 25 in Pittsburgh 3-2 in a shootout.
