Pittsburgh Penguins (41-20-10, third in the Metropolitan) vs. New York Rangers (45-20-6, second in the Metropolitan)
New York; Thursday, 7 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Artemi Panarin and New York square off against Pittsburgh. Panarin currently ranks 10th in the league with 84 points, scoring 19 goals and totaling 65 assists.
The Rangers are 29-9-2 in conference play. New York has scored 213 goals and ranks 10th in the Eastern Conference averaging 3.0 goals per game. Chris Kreider leads the team with 47.
The Penguins are 12-6-2 against opponents from the Metropolitan. Pittsburgh has scored 234 goals and ranks fifth in the Eastern Conference averaging 3.3 goals per game. Jake Guentzel leads the team with 33.
In their last meeting on March 29, New York won 3-2.
TOP PERFORMERS: Panarin leads the Rangers with 65 assists and has 84 points this season. Kreider has seven goals and five assists over the last 10 games for New York.
Sidney Crosby has 72 total points while scoring 26 goals and totaling 46 assists for the Penguins. Evgeni Malkin has seven goals and five assists over the last 10 games for Pittsburgh.
LAST 10 GAMES: Rangers: 7-2-1, averaging 3.2 goals, 5.5 assists, 3.3 penalties and 7.4 penalty minutes while giving up 2.6 goals per game with an .899 save percentage.
Penguins: 5-4-1, averaging 3.8 goals, 6.6 assists, 2.8 penalties and 5.8 penalty minutes while allowing 2.8 goals per game with a .907 save percentage.
INJURIES: Rangers: Ryan Strome: day to day (lower body).
Penguins: Jason Zucker: day to day (knee).
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by
