The Penguins will travel to Manhattan to face the New York Rangers tonight. The Penguins last played in Madison Square Garden in game six of the Eastern Conference Semifinals this past May. The Rangers won that contest, 3-1, on their way to turning a 3-1 series deficit into a seven-game victory.
The Penguins had won the first two games of the series that were played in New York. Since 2009, the Penguins are 10-4 in regular season contests in the Garden. That followed a 3-9-4 span from 2005 to 2009.
TONIGHT’S OPPONENT: The Rangers have been led offensively by the red-hot scoring touch of Rick Nash. Nash is 
tied atop the league’s leaderboard with 11 goals. The big left-winger was Columbus’ first-round draft pick in 2002 but has struggled with consistency throughout his career. A 40-goal scorer in 2008-09; he had just 42 over his first two seasons since coming over to the Rangers in a 2012 trade.
Both teams have experienced some roster turnover since the spring, and two players have changed sides directly. Former Penguins forwards Tanner Glass and Lee Stempniak will suit up tonight for the Blueshirts. Both players have suited up for every game for New York this season. Stempniak has three goals and three assists and is fifth on the team in points. Glass leads the Rangers with 40 hits.
Also joining the Rangers this offseason was Pittsburgh native and former Penguins forward Ryan Malone. Malone was assigned to Hartford (AHL) on Monday and will not be playing in tonight’s game. He hasn’t scored a point in six games with New York.
ALL HAIL THE KING: Henrik Lundqvist has seen the Penguins more than any other team in his career. In 51 games against Pittsburgh, he has a 25-19-7 record with a .913 save percentage. In the playoffs last spring, Lundqvist had a superhuman .940 save percentage and held the Penguins to 1.87 goals per game.
This season has been a down one for Lundqivst, as his .905 save percentage and 2.79 GAA are both down from his career averages. He’s played in 11 of the Rangers’ 14 games and has a 6-4-1 record.
DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK: Olli Maatta skated on his own today before the team’s morning skate. Maatta is just a week removed from having surgery to remove a tumor on his thyroid gland.
“He’s an amazing individual,” Johnston said. “Since I’ve known him, in the summer and through training camp, and you see how he handles things, mentally and physically, it doesn’t surprise me.”
Johnston also added that not only did Maatta skate today, the team had to keep him from working out last week. He was expected to miss a month recovering from the surgery. There has been no update to that timetable.
STILL STREAKING: The Penguins have won seven consecutive games coming into tonight. It’s the eighth straight season that the team has had a winning streak of at least seven games. A seven game winning streak also ties Coach Johnston for most in team history by a rookie head coach.
The Penguins penalty killers have killed 37 straight penalties, and have killed every penalty in the last 10 games, both of which are franchise records. The team’s PK unit is now ranked third in the league at 88.5%
Craig Adams has played 301 consecutive games. If he plays tonight, he will tie Jordan Staal for the second-longest streak in team history.
BEAU’S BACK: The Penguins recalled winger Beau Bennett from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. Bennett, 22, has yet to play in a game with Pittsburgh this season after being injured in practice before the season opener. Bennett played in two games with WBS last weekend. He had five assists and a plus-4 rating.
ON THE MOVE: Former Penguins defenseman Sergei Gonchar was traded from the Dallas Stars to the Montreal Canadiens for forward Travis Moen today. Gonchar, 40, had an assist in three games with Dallas after suffering an injury in training camp. The Penguins play the Canadiens next Tuesday.
UP AND DOWN: The Penguins sent defenseman Scott Harrington to Wilkes-Barre after Saturday’s 6-1 win in Buffalo. Harrington has yet to play in a game with Pittsburgh this season despite being called up several times. Harrington has two assists in eight games with the AHL Penguins this season.
MINOR MATTERS: The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins defeated the Binghamton Senators, 6-4 on Saturday. Bryan Rust scored two goals and Josh Archibald had a goal and an assist. Matt Murray made 30 saves for the win.
At home on Sunday, they beat the Syracuse Crunch 5-4 in overtime. Jean-Sebastien Dea scored the game-winning goal. Jason Megna scored a pair of goals and Bennett had four assists. Eric Hartzell got the win while making 24 saves.
Wheeling (ECHL) defeated the Cyclones in Cincinnati by a score of 4-3 on Saturday. Chaz Johnson had a goal and an assist. The win was the 100th for Nailers head coach Clark Donatelli.
On Saturday, Wheeling beat the expansion Indy Fuel at WesBanco Arena, 4-3. Riley Brace and Zack Torquato each scored two goals. Franky Palazzese was in net for both Nailers victories.
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