The New York Rangers came up empty in coach Mike Sullivan’s first game against the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier this week. They’ll get a second crack at it when Sullivan returns to Pittsburgh for the first time with his new squad Saturday.
The Penguins shut out the Rangers 3-0 in the season opener for both teams Tuesday. Pittsburgh took a 1-0 lead in the first that held until late in the third, when they added two more.
New York rebounded in its next outing, blanking the Buffalo Sabres 4-0 on Thursday. That contest played out similarly to their loss, with the Rangers grabbing an early lead before adding to it in the latter half of the final frame.
“We were a little quicker, I think, and defended better,” said Rangers winger Alexis Lafreniere. Shesty (goalie Igor Shesterkin) made some big saves. We weren’t perfect; I still think we can have a little more offense, but it was pretty good. We played hard.”
Lafreniere opened the scoring against Buffalo and added an assist, and captain J.T. Miller added a goal and an assist of his own, giving the duo the team lead in points through the first two games. Miller, who hails from East Palestine, Ohio, about 50 miles northwest of Pittsburgh, has 13 goals and 25 points in 31 career games against the Penguins.
“I think in a lot of ways J.T. represents the type of game from an identity standpoint that we’re trying to play,” Sullivan said. “He’s a fierce competitor, he plays the game hard. There’s an honesty to his game. Competes on both sides of the puck. And I thought it was on display (against the Sabres).”
The Rangers could be without Vincent Trocheck on Saturday. The center left the game against Buffalo in the second period with an upper-body injury. Sullivan did not have an update on him after the game, and New York did not practice Friday.
Pittsburgh, meanwhile, will look to stay unbeaten to open the season. The Penguins are coming off a 4-3 win against the New York Islanders on Thursday. Winger Justin Brazeau scored the tie-breaking goal in the third to secure the victory, his third goal of the season after scoring twice in the opener.
“To be that size with those types of hands, when you can get into those areas, that’s tough to handle,” Pittsburgh coach Dan Muse said of the 6-foot-6, 232-pound forward. “He’s playing well.”
Evgeni Malkin is still awaiting his first goal of the new campaign, but the 39-year-old has been a helpful teammate to start, with five assists thus far. His five points are tops on the Penguins.
“You see a player like him for so long from afar, and then you coach against him… then to get a chance to work with him every day like, I feel like he’s been really working on both sides of the puck,” Muse said. “The offensive production has been great. I think he’s feeling good there with the puck right now, around the net, making plays. … He’s been involved in just a lot of chances. But this hasn’t just been in games; even in practice, the way he’s working off of the puck. I think it’s been really good,”
–Field Level Media
