Morning Skate: January 19

The Morning After:
Yesterday’s results:
Capitals 3, Canadiens 0
Blackhawks 6, Sabres 2
Avalanche 4, Panthers 3 (OT)
Ducks 6, Coyotes 2

RLD 3 stars of the night:
1. Michal Neuvirth, WSH (31 saves, shutout)
2. Peter Mueller, COL (2 goals, 1 assist)
3. Jonathan Toews, CHI (2 goals)
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Tonight’s slate:
Wild @ Maple Leafs, 7:00 ET
Bruins @ Devils, 7:00
Penguins @ Rangers, 7:00
Islanders @ Flyers, 7:00
Predators @ Blue Jackets, 7:00
Oilers @ Blues, 8:00
Sabres @ Jets, 8:30
Red Wings @ Coyotes, 9:00
Flames @ Kings, 10:30
Senators @ Sharks, 10:30

Game of the night:
Pittsburgh Penguins @ New York Rangers
7:00 ET… TV: NHL Net. (US), Local Networks

Records:
Overall: Penguins (24-17-4) … Rangers (29-11-4)
Away/Home: Penguins (12-10-2) … Rangers (14-4-2)
Last 10: Penguins (4-6-0) … Rangers (7-3-0)
Season Series: 2-0 Rangers

Starting goaltenders:
PIT- Marc-Andre Fleury (2011-12 stats: 22-12-2, 2.23 GAA)
NYR- Henrik Lundqvist (2011-12 stats: 20-9-4, 1.90 GAA)

Injury report:
PIT- Arron Asham (illness, questionable), Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang (concussion, out), Jordan Staal (knee, out), Simon Despres (lower body, out)
NYR- Steve Eminger (shoulder, out), Michael Sauer (concussion, out), Jeff Woywitka (foot, out)

Three things to watch:
1. Evgeni Malkin’s hot streak
Don’t look now, but Malkin co-leads the NHL with 52 points coming into tonight’s contest. ‘Geno has been red-hot since Crosby sustained his second concussion, piling up 28 points in the last 17 games. He had five points on Sunday and scored the Pens’ lone goal on Tuesday. The team is counting on Malkin to continue his hot streak tonight against the Blueshirts.
2. Henrik Lundqvist building off shutout effort
After back-to-back rough outings, Lundqvist blanked the Predators on Tuesday night with 27 saves. How will he build off of that effort tonight? Lundqvist had won seven straight starts before those aforementioned losses, and has arguably been the NHL’s best goaltender since the start of November.
3. How will Rangers respond to Cup talk?
Rangers owner James Dolan stole a lot of headlines Tuesday night when he stated that the team was ‘close’ to the Stanley Cup. John Tortorella didn’t seem pleased with Dolan’s words, and you figure the Penguins have seen those remarks in the last day or so. It’ll be interesting to see how the Rangers respond to their owner making a bold statement at mid-season.

Final thought: This will be the third meeting between the Rangers and Penguins; the Rangers have won both previous meetings. Pittsburgh has responded well after Ray Shero basically guaranteed they’d make the playoffs. I think they’ll get a point, but the Rangers get two. Prediction: Rangers 3, Penguins 2 (SO)

The rest of today’s predictions:
Maple Leafs over Wild
Devils over Bruins
Flyers over Islanders
Predators over Blue Jackets
Blues over Oilers
Sabres over Jets
Red Wings over Coyotes
Flames over Kings
Sharks over Senators
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Five must-read links:
- ESPN: It'll be a Wild ride to make the playoffs
- NHL.com: Alfredsson, Chara named All-Star Game captains
- STL Today: Blues re-sign Elliott to two-year contract extension
- Blue Jackets Xtra: Renney: Jackets need patience in overhaul
- Los Angeles Times: NHL players should participate in the Olympics
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Video of the day:


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