• Who: Penguins (22-24-9) vs. Rangers (26-23-4) • What: NHL regular season, Game 56 • When: 7:08 p.m. • Where: Madison Square Garden • Goaltenders: AlexNedeljković (11-9-5, .899 SV%) vs. IgorShesterkin (18-18-2, .906 SV%) • TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh, NHL Network • Radio: Penguins Radio Network • Streaming: SNP360, ESPN+ • Boxscore: NHL.com • Media notes: Penguins | Rangers
► FOLLOW ALONG
• Ballgame. No shots for the Penguins in that period. Joseph was hurt blocking the final shot. Went down hard. Looked like knee.
• Big flurry. Ned's turn to shine, and he has. Lizotte block, too. And Acciari. 24.4 left.
• Now the Rangers are coming. One minute.
• Two clears and two minutes left.
• Shesterkin's off now, too. It'll be six-on-four. Oh, my.
• Now Bunting's off for a hook with 2:36 left. Flagrant spill by Fox. Kicked his own right skate into the baseboards. Everyone saw it except the official. One last kill needed.
• Icing on Pittsburgh. 2:45 left.
• A little more heat from the Rangers. Nothing severe. Three minutes left.
• Panarin's stopped easily from atop the left circle. The Rangers' only real chance of that power play. Well done by the PK. 4:26 to go.
• Joseph's being sent off for knocking down Vesey in front of the net. P.O's hopping mad about it, as is Sullivan, but I'm not sure why. Easy call. Cross-checked him down. 6:15 left.
• Less than seven minutes, and still not shots ... but still no cares, apparently.
• Fans trying to get the Rangers going. Not sure the Rangers are their problem.
• Halfway through the third, and the Penguins still don't have a shot. But the Rangers have only five, and that seems to be fine by the visitors. Short shifts, frenetic pace.
• Just so little being conceded by the Penguins. Partly out of hard work, but also partly out of skill. Plain and simple tonight, their best players have been their best players. 11:02 left.
• Imama hasn't played much for a reason: The team just announced that he's out with an upper-body injury and won't return.
• Same pace to open up.
• Third period underway.
• Both teams back on the ice. Not sure if the Penguins can keep this up for all three periods, but they tell you to never bet against streaks and trends, right?
• End period. And end power play, too.
• Bemstrom with two good chances. He's carrying himself with confidence.
• Smith with a trip at the Pittsburgh blue line. Second penalty Beauvillier's drawn, but totally legit. Blade into blade. 2:08 left in second.
• Hayes line really pounding the Shesterkin point. Could've scored twice on that sequence. Maybe three times. Bunting and Heinen in there, too.
• Second time: Panarin pulls one of those reverse hits on Lizotte, and the latter's slow back to the bench. Players HATE that.
• First time I noticed Panarin all night, but he breaks a bit free down the right side to whip one on net. Nedeljković closes up the five-hole.
• Shot attempts are 47-19. This is incredible.
• Acciari levels Cuylle on a clean hit.
• GOAL: Tomasino. But I'm breathless over that touch pass just now by Rust. That's two beautiful primary assists in a row for Rust. Other assist: Bunting. Time: 11:59, second period. Penguins, 3-2
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) February 8, 2025
• Dynamic start to power play. Can't stress enough how the Penguins are skating.
• Cuylle's off for tripping Beauvillier. Offensive zone, too.
• GOAL: Rakell's 25th. Gorgeous. Just an all-the-way-up-ice clinic for the new first line, capped by Rakell undressing Shesterkin to the forehand. As pretty a rush goal as you'll see. Assists: Rust, Beauvillier. Time: 9:07, second period. Tie, 2-2
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) February 8, 2025
• The Penguins continue to out-skate the crap out of this opponent. It's not even close in that regard. Really isn't. But ...
• Back-to-back very good saves for Nedeljković.
• Great chance for Graves, of all people. Nothing doing.
• GOAL: Fox has all day from the right dot and beats Nedeljković a little too easily. No idea what Beauvillier was doing in that area. Had no one. Still, that needed to be a save there. Assists: Trocheck, Lindgren. Time: 3:39, second period. Rangers, 2-1
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) February 8, 2025
• GOAL: Lizotte's ninth of the season. Karlsson gets it right back, as he tends to do, in picking off a poor Rempe in the neutral zone. Acciari spun in the right corner for a good pass to Lizotte. Time 2:35, second period. Tie, 1-1
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) February 8, 2025
• Picking right up, more heavy pressure on Shesterkin. Bemstrom's hauled down in plain sight. No call in plain sight.
• Second period underway.
• Teams back on the ice.
• Totally nutty individual stat from the first period: Letang was on the ice for 17 shot attempts for the Penguins, zero for the Rangers. Don't recall ever seeing something like that.
• End period. An encouraging one for the Penguins except for ... yeah. But a 22-9 advantage in shot attempts is still impressive. We'll see if it matters.
• Hayes tripped going across the New York blue line. No call. He looks around for one.
• He's fine. Seen that before.
• Shesterkin's hurt after a mad scramble near his crease. Looks like his hand. Hayes nearly got one by him.
• The Penguins are commanding play, a 2-to-1 ratio of shot attempts. If it weren't for whatever Karlsson could've been thinking on that simple sequence ...
• Bemstrom with a turnaround try from high-danger territory. Stopped by Shesterkin.
• Good in-tight chance for Bunting. He's got one goal in his past 11 games and could use one.
• Too many men penalty on New York. The Penguins are 0 for 13 on the power play in their past five games but still rank No. 6 in the NHL for the season.
• GOAL: Trocheck. Awful giveaway by Karlsson. Just awful. Handed the puck away from the left corner to the left dot. Trocheck had all day. Assist goes to Lafrenière who got his blade on the puck. Time: 8:31, first period. Rangers, 1-0
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365) February 8, 2025
• Beauvillier, in particular, is just shot out of a cannon. Not sure I've ever seen this from him before. Looks like he's trying to respond to being placed on the first line.
• New first line flying down there.
• Airtight opening turn through the lines for both side. Not much room out there at all.
• Quality early stops from both goaltenders, the latest by Shesterkin on Beauvillier between the hashes on a sharp setup by Rakell.
• Faceoff: Penguins vs. Rangers, Kevin Hayes vs. J.T. Miller, 7:08 p.m.,Madison Square Garden
• Dude with the Rangers scarf really gets the place revved up with a rousing anthem. He's good. Arguably top-three in the NHL.
• And for Peter Laviolette's Rangers:
Artemi Panarin-J.T. Miller-Mika Zibanejad Reilly Smith-Vince Trocheck-Alexis Lafrenière Chris Kreider-Jonny Brodzinski-Will Cuylle Jimmy Vesey-Sam Carrick-Matt Rempe
Ryan Lindgren-Adam Fox K'Andre Miller-Will Borgen Zac Jones-Braden Schneider
• Mike Sullivan's combos here tonight:
Anthony Beauvillier-Rickard Rakell-Bryan Rust Michael Bunting-Cody Glass-Danton Heinen Emil Bemstrom-Kevin Hayes-Phil Tomasino Boko Imama-Blake Lizotte-Noel Acciari
P.O Joseph-Kris Letang Matt Grzelcyk-Erik Karlsson Ryan Graves-Vincent Desharnais
• Brisk evening here in the heart of Manhattan, but the same old place inside. Warmups underway. No surprises on either side:
THE ASYLUM
Final: Penguins 3, Rangers 2
• Who: Penguins (22-24-9) vs. Rangers (26-23-4)
• What: NHL regular season, Game 56
• When: 7:08 p.m.
• Where: Madison Square Garden
• Goaltenders: Alex Nedeljković (11-9-5, .899 SV%) vs. Igor Shesterkin (18-18-2, .906 SV%)
• TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh, NHL Network
• Radio: Penguins Radio Network
• Streaming: SNP360, ESPN+
• Boxscore: NHL.com
• Media notes: Penguins | Rangers
► FOLLOW ALONG
• Ballgame. No shots for the Penguins in that period. Joseph was hurt blocking the final shot. Went down hard. Looked like knee.
• Big flurry. Ned's turn to shine, and he has. Lizotte block, too. And Acciari. 24.4 left.
• Now the Rangers are coming. One minute.
• Two clears and two minutes left.
• Shesterkin's off now, too. It'll be six-on-four. Oh, my.
• Now Bunting's off for a hook with 2:36 left. Flagrant spill by Fox. Kicked his own right skate into the baseboards. Everyone saw it except the official. One last kill needed.
• Icing on Pittsburgh. 2:45 left.
• A little more heat from the Rangers. Nothing severe. Three minutes left.
• Panarin's stopped easily from atop the left circle. The Rangers' only real chance of that power play. Well done by the PK. 4:26 to go.
• Joseph's being sent off for knocking down Vesey in front of the net. P.O's hopping mad about it, as is Sullivan, but I'm not sure why. Easy call. Cross-checked him down. 6:15 left.
• Less than seven minutes, and still not shots ... but still no cares, apparently.
• Fans trying to get the Rangers going. Not sure the Rangers are their problem.
• Halfway through the third, and the Penguins still don't have a shot. But the Rangers have only five, and that seems to be fine by the visitors. Short shifts, frenetic pace.
• Just so little being conceded by the Penguins. Partly out of hard work, but also partly out of skill. Plain and simple tonight, their best players have been their best players. 11:02 left.
• Imama hasn't played much for a reason: The team just announced that he's out with an upper-body injury and won't return.
• Same pace to open up.
• Third period underway.
• Both teams back on the ice. Not sure if the Penguins can keep this up for all three periods, but they tell you to never bet against streaks and trends, right?
• End period. And end power play, too.
• Bemstrom with two good chances. He's carrying himself with confidence.
• Smith with a trip at the Pittsburgh blue line. Second penalty Beauvillier's drawn, but totally legit. Blade into blade. 2:08 left in second.
• Hayes line really pounding the Shesterkin point. Could've scored twice on that sequence. Maybe three times. Bunting and Heinen in there, too.
• Second time: Panarin pulls one of those reverse hits on Lizotte, and the latter's slow back to the bench. Players HATE that.
• First time I noticed Panarin all night, but he breaks a bit free down the right side to whip one on net. Nedeljković closes up the five-hole.
• Shot attempts are 47-19. This is incredible.
• Acciari levels Cuylle on a clean hit.
• GOAL: Tomasino. But I'm breathless over that touch pass just now by Rust. That's two beautiful primary assists in a row for Rust. Other assist: Bunting. Time: 11:59, second period. Penguins, 3-2
• Dynamic start to power play. Can't stress enough how the Penguins are skating.
• Cuylle's off for tripping Beauvillier. Offensive zone, too.
• GOAL: Rakell's 25th. Gorgeous. Just an all-the-way-up-ice clinic for the new first line, capped by Rakell undressing Shesterkin to the forehand. As pretty a rush goal as you'll see. Assists: Rust, Beauvillier. Time: 9:07, second period. Tie, 2-2
• The Penguins continue to out-skate the crap out of this opponent. It's not even close in that regard. Really isn't. But ...
• Back-to-back very good saves for Nedeljković.
• Great chance for Graves, of all people. Nothing doing.
• GOAL: Fox has all day from the right dot and beats Nedeljković a little too easily. No idea what Beauvillier was doing in that area. Had no one. Still, that needed to be a save there. Assists: Trocheck, Lindgren. Time: 3:39, second period. Rangers, 2-1
• GOAL: Lizotte's ninth of the season. Karlsson gets it right back, as he tends to do, in picking off a poor Rempe in the neutral zone. Acciari spun in the right corner for a good pass to Lizotte. Time 2:35, second period. Tie, 1-1
• Picking right up, more heavy pressure on Shesterkin. Bemstrom's hauled down in plain sight. No call in plain sight.
• Second period underway.
• Teams back on the ice.
• Totally nutty individual stat from the first period: Letang was on the ice for 17 shot attempts for the Penguins, zero for the Rangers. Don't recall ever seeing something like that.
• End period. An encouraging one for the Penguins except for ... yeah. But a 22-9 advantage in shot attempts is still impressive. We'll see if it matters.
• Hayes tripped going across the New York blue line. No call. He looks around for one.
• He's fine. Seen that before.
• Shesterkin's hurt after a mad scramble near his crease. Looks like his hand. Hayes nearly got one by him.
• The Penguins are commanding play, a 2-to-1 ratio of shot attempts. If it weren't for whatever Karlsson could've been thinking on that simple sequence ...
• Bemstrom with a turnaround try from high-danger territory. Stopped by Shesterkin.
• Good in-tight chance for Bunting. He's got one goal in his past 11 games and could use one.
• Too many men penalty on New York. The Penguins are 0 for 13 on the power play in their past five games but still rank No. 6 in the NHL for the season.
• GOAL: Trocheck. Awful giveaway by Karlsson. Just awful. Handed the puck away from the left corner to the left dot. Trocheck had all day. Assist goes to Lafrenière who got his blade on the puck. Time: 8:31, first period. Rangers, 1-0
• Beauvillier, in particular, is just shot out of a cannon. Not sure I've ever seen this from him before. Looks like he's trying to respond to being placed on the first line.
• New first line flying down there.
• Airtight opening turn through the lines for both side. Not much room out there at all.
• Quality early stops from both goaltenders, the latest by Shesterkin on Beauvillier between the hashes on a sharp setup by Rakell.
• Faceoff: Penguins vs. Rangers, Kevin Hayes vs. J.T. Miller, 7:08 p.m., Madison Square Garden
• Dude with the Rangers scarf really gets the place revved up with a rousing anthem. He's good. Arguably top-three in the NHL.
• And for Peter Laviolette's Rangers:
Artemi Panarin-J.T. Miller-Mika Zibanejad
Reilly Smith-Vince Trocheck-Alexis Lafrenière
Chris Kreider-Jonny Brodzinski-Will Cuylle
Jimmy Vesey-Sam Carrick-Matt Rempe
Ryan Lindgren-Adam Fox
K'Andre Miller-Will Borgen
Zac Jones-Braden Schneider
• Mike Sullivan's combos here tonight:
Anthony Beauvillier-Rickard Rakell-Bryan Rust
Michael Bunting-Cody Glass-Danton Heinen
Emil Bemstrom-Kevin Hayes-Phil Tomasino
Boko Imama-Blake Lizotte-Noel Acciari
P.O Joseph-Kris Letang
Matt Grzelcyk-Erik Karlsson
Ryan Graves-Vincent Desharnais
• Brisk evening here in the heart of Manhattan, but the same old place inside. Warmups underway. No surprises on either side:
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