6:10 pm
March 9

Rangers @ Penguins

Who will WIN this matchup?

New York Rangers (10-10-3)

@ Pittsburgh Penguins (14-9-1)

 

Starting Goalies:

Keith Kinkaid (NYR): Confirmed

Tristan Jarry (PIT): Confirmed

 

Current odds:

New York Rangers: (+145)

Pittsburgh Penguins: (-165)

 

• When the Pittsburgh Penguins host the New York Rangers for the second straight game Tuesday, Kasperi Kapanen will likely line up as the right winger with center Evgeni Malkin.That wasn’t the original plan when the Penguins reacquired their 2014 first-round draft pick from Toronto during the offseason. Kapanen was projected as Sidney Crosby’s right winger. But Kapanen, who missed training camp and the start of the season because of visa issues in his native Finland followed by a COVID-19 quarantine period, didn’t click — with Crosby or otherwise. He was demoted to other lines and, on Feb. 20 against the Islanders, got benched in the third period, followed by a one-on-one conference with Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan.

• Since then, Kapanen has played with Malkin, who was not happy with his first several weeks of play this year, either. Both are prospering. Over the past eight games, Kapanen has four goals, nine points, while Malkin has three goals, eight points.

• On Sunday, Kapanen had a goal and two assists, Malkin a goal and an assist in a 5-1 win that ended the Rangers’ three-game win streak and knocked them back to .500 a little over 24 hours after they had eclipsed that mark for the first time this season.

• One upside to the two-game sets in this pandemic-era season is the chance to immediately correct things against the same team. Rangers coach David Quinn pointed to his team’s play in the neutral zone as one of those things.

5/10
Confidence
StreakSmarter Pick
Pittsburgh Penguins
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