PREMIUM
Rogers' 10* SURE SHOT >> Went 6-0 Monday!
(NHL) Pittsburgh vs. NY Rangers,
Money Line: -119.00 NY Rangers (Home)
Result: Loss
Money Line: -119.00 NY Rangers (Home)
Result: Loss
The set-up: The New York Rangers were ousted from of the playoffs by Pittsburgh in the opening round in 2015-16 and appeared bent on revenge when erupting for five unanswered goals in a 5-2 win at Pittsburgh on Monday night. The 11-5-2 Penguins now get a chance at some revenge of their own in this quick turnaround, as they visit Madison Square Garden to take on the 14-5-1 Rangers, tonight. Pittsburgh: Monday's setback spoiled an otherwise storybook NHL debut for Pittsburgh's Jake Guentzel, who had a pair of goals and became the fifth player in franchise history to score on his first shift. "He's got real good offensive instincts," head coach Mike Sullivan said of Guentzel. "We're really excited about him as a player." The reigning Stanley Cup champions have dropped four of six overall and allowed 17 goals in those losses but are not putting too much stock in Monday's result. "What's most important, from our standpoint, is how we react to it," Sullivan told reporters. "That's the lesson we need to learn from this game." NY Rangers: The Rangers scored at least five goals in a game for the 10th time this season in Monday's win, by far the highest mark in the league. "We're trying to play a fast-paced game and we're also trying to check quickly," Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault said to the New York Daily News. "I believe we saw that in the second and the third. It would've been easy for us on back-to-back nights to maybe not put out the way we were expected to, but not this group." Only Montreal (30) has more points than the Rangers' 29 but New York's 81 goals are 16 more than the next highest-scoring team, while their plus-34 differential is double that of Montreal's second-best margin of plus-17! The pick: Familiarity breeds contempt and there should be no shortage of it Wednesday. The Penguins and Rangers have met in the postseason the past three years, so even though this is the regular season, back-to-back contests between these teams is nothing new for anyone involved. The Penguins took a 2-0 lead in the first period but succumbed to the league's best offense, as the Rangers scored four straight goals against goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and a fifth into an empty net. It's unlikely that Fleury will be in net Wednesday, as Matt Murray is clearly the better goaltender this season (5-1-0 with a 1.68 goals-against average TY) and he gave up just four goals in three playoff games versus New York last year. Henrik Lundqvist (9-5-1, 2.27 GAA & .98 save percentage) will make his 60th start and go for his 30th win against Pittsburgh. The Rangers are a 10* play.