Rangers-Penguins Preview: And Then There Were Seven

The New York Rangers take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday at 1:00 PM for the second game of a road trip. They played the Atlanta Thrashers on Thursday.

The Rangers and Penguins were tied for sixth place in their division—tenth place overall—on Tuesday.

The Penguins are led by Evgeni Malkin—the NHL points leader—and Sidney Crosby.

After being outside the playoff picture for most of the season, the Penguins added Bill Guerin and Chris Kunitz at the NHL Trade Deadline. They went on a winning streak that leapfrogged them over the Rangers, as well as the Montreal Canadiens and the Florida Panthers.            

The Rangers are led by Sean Avery with seven points in seven games, and Ryan Callahan, with eight points in six games.

New York started the year in first place, dropped out of the playoff picture briefly, and battled their way back in after hiring coach John Tortorella. They added Avery and traded for Nik Antropov and Derek Morris at the NHL Trade Deadline.

The Penguins' new coach, Dan Bylsma, immediately implemented a full-out attacking style. His record since taking over is 12-2-3. Tortorella also implemented an aggressive attack and forechecking gameplan. His record with the Rangers is 8-3-1.

The Penguins and Rangers had identical 39-27-8 records for 86 points with eight games remaining, as of Tuesday.

The Rangers play the Atlanta Thrashers on Thursday. The Penguins play the Calgary Flames on Wednesday.