The Penguins finished their five-game road trip with a 4-1 record, with the lone loss coming at the hands of the New York 
Rangers at Madison Square Garden. On a throwback night at Consol Energy Center, the Penguins will face an old Patrick Division foe and hope to avenge their last loss as they host their longtime rivals.
This is the second of four games between the clubs this season. All four will be played before the All-Star break, with the Penguins traveling to New York on December 8, and the Rangers returning to Pittsburgh on January 18.
In 259 games between the clubs, the results are remarkably even, with the Penguins holding a 115-121-23 record against the blue shirts. The teams are an even 5-5 in games played at Consol Energy Center, but the Penguins have won five of the last six.
TONIGHT’S OPPONENT: Since beating the Penguins on Tuesday, the Rangers hosted the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday. The lost that game by a score of 4-3 in a shootout.
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The Rangers are expected to ice the same lineup that shut down the Penguins in Madison Square Garden, including their stalwart puckstopper, Henrik Lundqvist, who will play his 14th game out of 16 this season.
JUST A FLESH WOUND: Penguins center Brandon Sutter is expected to play this evening after head left Friday night’s game when he was struck in the face by a puck.
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Patric Hornqvist, who also missed the end of Friday’s game after a big hit by Dion Phaneuf, and Blake Comeau, who did not play Friday due to illness, are both expected to suit up for the Penguins tonight.
Olli Maatta, still recovering from his thyroid surgery, skated with the team for the second consecutive day but will be held out of tonight’s game.
“We’re going to give him a couple more days, for sure,” head coach Mike Johnston said, “We just want to make sure [that] he’s really sharp when he comes back.“
Maatta has not been ruled out for Tuesday’s game in Montreal.
CLASS OF ’14: Before the Penguins and Maple Leafs squared off on Friday night, the Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2014 was introduced at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto.
The honored inductees were defenseman Rob Blake, forwards Peter Forsberg and Mike Modano, goaltender Dominik Hasek, coach Pat Burns, and referee Bill McCreary.
MINOR MATTERS: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton beat Lehigh Valley, 3-1, on Friday night to improve to 9-5-1. Rookie forward Scott Wilson had a goal and an assist. Jeff Zatkoff made 21 saves in his return from injury. The AHL Penguins host Syracuse tonight at 7:05 p.m.
Wheeling (5-4) gave up five straight goals en route to a 6-3 loss to Orlando on Friday. Matia Marcantuoni had a goal, an assist, and was a plus-1. The Nailers travel to Indy tonight for a 7:35 p.m. faceoff.
Photo credit: NHL
