New York Rangers looking forward to welcome Pittsburgh Penguins to the Madison Square Garden - Preview
The New York Rangers will look to make it two home wins in a row with the visit of the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Madison Square Garden in New York, New York, United States on Thursday, January 19, 2012.
Rangers are leading the Eastern Conference with an impressive 29-11-4 record and 62 points after beating the Nashville Predators at home with a brilliant 3-0 victory as goaltender, Henrik Lundqvist, got his fourth shutout of the 2011-2012 National Hockey
League (NHL) regular season.
New York has been brilliant in defence this year, allowing only 2.0 goals per-game on average to rank first in goals against in the NHL and Lundqvist performances in front of goal have played a major role in the Rangers rise.
The victory over the Predators did much to dispel the doubts that had crept in after the Rangers were comprehensively beaten by the struggling Montreal Canadiens and captain, Ryan Callahan, praised his team’s return to winning ways.
"We weren't happy with our game in Montreal at all, I think this whole year, we've responded well after poor performances”.
"Good teams ... don't let it snowball and turn into two losses or three losses", Callahan added.
The Penguins on the other hand, have recently broken a string of bad results to return some positivity back to the dressing room. After losing their captain and star player, Sidney Crosby, to reoccurring concussion related issues, Pittsburgh went on a six
game losing streak before finding their feet back on Friday against the Florida Panthers.
Pittsburgh, which still is without Crosby, are now on a three game winning streak which takes them to seventh in the Eastern Conference with a 24-17-4 record and 52 points.
Penguins’ forward, Evgeni Malkin, has played a vital role in the team’s revival after the loss of Crosby which coach, Dan Bylsma, praised his form that keeps the team alive in the race to secure a playoff spot.
"He's getting the lion's share of responsibilities right now in a lot of areas and playing outstanding", Bylsma said.
The Rangers will be favourites for the win as their home form is outstanding with a 14-4-2 record at the Madison Square Garden while Pittsburgh Penguins will face a very tough test with their away record not one to put much confidence in at 12-10-2.
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