As will be the case for every remaining game this season, the New York Rangers have a chance to earn a crucial two points in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Friday night, the opponent is another wild card contender in the Pittsburgh Penguins, who enter the contest only three points behind New York.
The Feb. 7th matchup is the first of a back-to-back before the Rangers get two weeks off due to the NHL's 4 Nations Faceoff. For the Blueshirts, it is a chance to pick up four points and keep pace with other teams. Currently, the Rangers are five points behind the Eastern Conference second wild card spot, which is occupied by the Detroit Red Wings.
New York is 2-0 against Pittsburgh this season, and on Friday, there is one critical area where they have a significant advantage in the upcoming matchup to watch.
Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are OUT for Friday night's contest
On Friday morning, Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan announced to reporters that both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin will be out against the Rangers. This means the Penguins will be shorthanded for friday night's matchup at Madison Square Garden.
Crosby — like he is every season, it seems — is Pittsburgh's leading scorer with 58 points in 55 games. Malkin is fifth on the team with 34 points. Without these two star centermen, the Rangers have an enormous advantage.
It starts with New York's newly acquired star, J.T. Miller, who has four points in three games and has been noticeable every time he's on the ice. On Wednesday night against the Boston Bruins, it was Miller's forecheck that caused Boston to lose the puck, which found its way to Artemi Panarin to get the first goal of the game.
Miller going HARD on the forecheck and the Breadman delivers! 🍞🚨 pic.twitter.com/6v4hPpRtB4
— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) February 6, 2025
Miller has a bunch of the traits that the Rangers core was missing. He's hard-nosed, hustles every shift, is an incredible passer and is not afraid to do the dirty work. As the season goes on and he gets more acclimated to his team, expect him to make more of a difference.
But, it's not only Miller that needs to make an impact. The other three Rangers centermen — Vincent Trocheck, Johnny Brodzinski and Sam Carrick — all have to perform well at even strength.
Lastly, while he is not playing the center position, Mika Zibanejad has been red-hot in the past three games. Zibanejad has six points since moving to the right wing on a line with Miller and Artemi Panarin. He had two points on Wednesday night, including the assist on Chris Kreider's shorthanded game-winning goal.
It's clear as day that when Zibanejad is playing better, the Rangers' ceiling is so much higher. This is the case for any member of the Rangers core, whether Zibanejad, Panarin, Kreider, Trocheck, Alexis Lafreniere or someone else. That's why the team has been two wins away from the Stanley Cup Final twice in three years.
Against a Penguins team that is shorthanded and will be without two of the best hockey players of this generation, New York has a chance to capitalize on a less-talented team. That starts with winning the middle of the ice.
The Rangers need all the points they can get as of late, and many games like Friday night will be against wild card contenders. These are the key games where they have to rely on their talent to dig themselves out of the hole that they created in 2024.