Blue Line Station
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Rangers vs Penguins preview: The competition gets tougher

By Steve Paulus

Feb 1, 2021; New York, New York, USA; Bryan Rust #17 of the Pittsburgh Penguins trips over Mika Zibanejad #93 of the New York Rangers during the third period at Madison Square Garden on February 01, 2021 in New York City. The Rangers won 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Sarah Stier/POOL PHOTOS-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 1, 2021; New York, New York, USA; Bryan Rust #17 of the Pittsburgh Penguins trips over Mika Zibanejad #93 of the New York Rangers during the third period at Madison Square Garden on February 01, 2021 in New York City. The Rangers won 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Sarah Stier/POOL PHOTOS-USA TODAY Sports /
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Chris Kreider #20 of the New York Rangers celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the third period against the Pittsburgh Penguins Credit: Sarah Stier/POOL PHOTOS-USA TODAY Sports
Chris Kreider #20 of the New York Rangers celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the third period against the Pittsburgh Penguins Credit: Sarah Stier/POOL PHOTOS-USA TODAY Sports /

About the Rangers

The three game winning streak is the longest of the season for New York.  Their 15 goals in the last three games is the most they have scored in a three game span since December 2019 when they scored five goals in three straight games.

They will probably be without Jacob Trouba and Igor Shesterkin who are listed as day-to-day and accompanied the Rangers on this road trip.   Coach David Quinn wouldn’t commit to naming a goalie saying it will be either Georgiev or Keith Kinkaid.

Georgiev has not had a lot of career success against the Penguins with a 3-2-1 record in seven games.  His Save Percentage (Sv%) is .893 and his Goals Against Average GAA) is 3.92, not great numbers.  Kinkaid has decent lifetime numbers with the Devils against Pittsburgh with a 6-3-2 record and a 3.07 GAA and a .912 Sv%.    Kinkaid has started two games this season in Hartford and allowed two goals in one game and pitched a shutout in the other.

David Quinn has had a lot of success rolling four lines as the Rangers have won six of their last eight games.   The return of Filip Chytil has helped the team’s depth immeasurably as he now has three lines with offensive potential and can use the fourth line in a traditional defensive role. 11 different Rangers were on the scoresheet on Saturday and 10 on Thursday.

Mika Zibanejad tweaked his leg in a rut as the game ended Saturday.  Quinn said that he was fine, but it remains to be seen if he will be 100%.

The Rangers’ penalty kill is now rated fifth best in the NHL and have stopped an astounding 94% of the last 50 power plays they have faced over the last 15 games.

The power play has improved to a 15.7% success rate and they have scored seven power play goals in their last 30 opportunities, a 23% rate.

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