Rangers, Penguins meet in key division battle (Dec 20, 2016)
PITTSBURGH -- It might be difficult to label a game as a first-place showdown when it comes before the Christmas break, but certainly there will be a good story line Tuesday when the New York Rangers visit the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena.
With a regulation win, Pittsburgh (20-7-5) would tie the Rangers (23-10-1) atop the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference, although New York has two games in hand.
By pretty much any measure, the Metropolitan has been the NHL's best division this season, and recent hot streaks by the Penguins, Rangers, Philadelphia and Columbus have underscored that. Add in Washington, and five of the division clubs are above the 40-point mark.
New York, just a point behind Chicago atop the league standings, has won six of its past seven games. Pittsburgh is 7-0-2 in its past nine games and is coming off back-to-back overtime losses.
"There's no doubt that at this present time in the NHL, we are the dominant division," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "You go back a couple years, the West looked like they had the better teams, but right now, (it is) our division, because of the wins.
"But I look at the league and the parity. Every night, players bust their gut to try and get two points."
There might be a little extra burst in their skating stride when they play games within the Metropolitan.
"We pay attention. It's hard not to," Rangers defenseman Marc Staal said of the division standings, according to the New York Post. "You can fall behind pretty quick with teams like that that keep streaking. It's something we looked at the other day when we were within three or four points of like six, seven teams. So you have to keep getting points."
The teams split a home-and-home series in their first two meetings of the season, with New York winning 5-2 at Pittsburgh Nov. 21 and the Penguins playing what they called one of their best and most complete games in a 6-1 win Nov. 23 at Madison Square Garden.
After Tuesday, the Rangers play their next five games outside of the Metropolitan.
Pittsburgh, in contrast, is beginning a stretch of five games against division clubs sandwiched around the NHL's holiday break.
"I just think every game's hard," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "It doesn't matter who you play in this league. Every game is hard. It's a good league. There's a fine line between winning and losing, regardless of who your opponent is.
"If you don't come with the necessary commitment and the focus and the discipline and that type of a mindset, you run the risk of getting beat, regardless of who your opponent is. I know we've got a capable group. When we play the game the right way, we can play with anybody in the league."
Pittsburgh has an extra challenge right now. Two of its top defensemen, Kris Letang and Trevor Daley, got undisclosed injuries in the past week and are expected to miss this stretch against Metropolitan Division rivals and probably beyond.
Among defensemen, Letang leads the Penguins with 19 points and Daley is second with three goals.
"It's going to be hard," fellow defenseman Olli Maatta told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review of filling in for the two swift-skating players. "When you don't have those two guys, there's not that one guy that can jump in there and fill in. They're that good of players."
