Penguins Game 59, Time’s Up; Lines, Notes & How to Watch vs. Rangers

The Pittsburgh Penguins (23-26-9) were embarrassed on home ice by a division rival Saturday in yet another near-fatal blow to their playoff chase. The Penguins are right back to work Sunday when they host the not-so-hot New York Rangers (27-25-4) at PPG Paints Arena.

The puck drops just after 3:30 p.m.

The Penguins conditionally own the Rangers’ 2025 first-round pick per the Marcus Pettersson and Drew O’Connor trade with Vancouver. However, the pick is top-13 protected, so if the Rangers should fall into the bottom 13 in the league, the pick reverts to an unprotected 2026 first-round pick.

Poetically, the Rangers are currently 13th in the NHL. It’s debatable which year’s pick the Penguins would be better off holding, but with the game Sunday, they will have a little bit of a say in the Rangers’ continued fall in the standings.

Both teams were humiliated Saturday.

The Penguins controlled the game on home ice for the first 35 minutes against the Washington Capitals before the wheels fell off, the engine burst into flames, the airbags deployed, and the radio got stuck on AM. The Penguins lost 8-3 after giving up five unanswered goals.

Read More: Penguins Report Card: Dominance Wasted; Who to Blame 

Alex Nedeljkovic allowed five goals on 14 shots before giving way to Joel Blomqvist, who figures to start Sunday against Washington.

The Penguins highlight, aside from dominating play only to be undone with catastrophic mistakes, was Sidney Crosby rushing past defensemen for a sharp backhand goal in the second period.

The Penguins also kept Alex Ovechkin from scoring a goal. He remains 16 away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record.

Remarkably, the Rangers fared even worse on the road against the Buffalo Sabres, losing 8-2. The Rangers didn’t put a digit on the scoreboard until they trailed 5-0 midway through the second period. The Rangers are 3-3-0 since their blockbuster trade to acquire J.T. Miller from Vancouver.

The Miller trade involved the Rangers’ first-round pick going to Vancouver, which general manager Patrik Allvin quickly flipped to acquire Pettersson and O’Connor.

Blomqvist is expected to start in goal for the Penguins. Igor Shesterkin played only 17 minutes Saturday, allowing five goals. It would figure he gets the start again for the Rangers.

Bryan Rust was ill Saturday and remained on IR. Crosby returned to the lineup. Emil Bemstrom was reassigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Penguins Lines

Anthony Beauvillier-Sidney Crosby-Rickard Rakell

Michael Bunting-Evgeni Malkin-Cody Glass

Danton Heinen-Kevin Hayes-Philip Tomasino

Matt Nieto-Blake Lizotte-Noel Acciari

Defense

P.O Joseph-Kris Letang,

Matt Grzelcyk-Erik Karlsson,

Ryan Graves-Vincent Desharnais

Goalie: Joel Blomqvist/Alex Nedeljkovic

Rangers Lines

Artemi Panarin-J.T. Miller-Mika Zibanejad

Will Cuylle-Vincent Trocheck-Alex Lafreniere

Chris Kreider-Johnny Brodzinski-Arthur Kaliyev

Reilly Smith-Sam Carrick-Matt Rempe

Defense

Ryan Lindgren-Adam Fox

K’Andre Miller-Will Borgren

Urho Vaakanainen-Braden Schneider

Goalie: Igor Shesterkin/Jonathan Quick

Special Teams

Penguins power play: 25.2%, 6th. Penguins penalty kill: 79.5, 16th.

Rangers power play: 20.7%, 20th. Rangers penalty kill: 81.9%, 6th.

Penguins Game Notes

The Penguins have points in 10 of their last 14 home games versus New York (9-4-1).

The Penguins conclude their 12th set of back-to-back games. Thus far, the team is 9-14-0 in back-to-backs (3-9-0 on the first night and 6-5-0 on the second night).

Watch out for Anthony Beauvillier. He has the Rangers’ number. Beauvillier has 26 points (13-13-26) in 33 career games against New York. It’s the most goals and points he’s recorded against any one team.

Rickard Rakell (2-5-7) and Erik Karlsson (2-5-7) both have active six-game point streaks.

Sidney Crosby’s 1,045 total career assists are four shy of tying Gordie Howe for 10th place on the NHL’s all-time assists list. One more goal, and Crosby will have sole possession of 18th place all-time in goals.

How to Watch

TV: TNT

Radio: 105.9 The X