GDT: #70 - 03.15.2012 | Pittsburgh Penguins @ New York Rangers | 7:00 PM - NBCSN, MSG

[Loffen]

THE MATCHUP GAME #70 March 15th, 2012 @ (42-21-5) _________ (44-18-7) 7:00 PM ET MADISON SQUARE GARDEN - NYC, NY MSG | NBC SPORTS, TSN2 | ROOT SPORTS

ONLINE STREAMS/RADIO ONLINE STREAMS: FRS - MyP2P - CHANFEED - STREAMO | RADIO FEED: CLICK HERE

NEWS & NOTES GAME LINKS: Game Preview - Last Matchup; NYR@PIT 2/21/12 - NHL.com - Rangers.com - Penguins.com NY Post - NYDN - Andrew Gross - MSG.com - Yahoo Sports - ESPN.com - TSN.ca AROUND THE LEAGUE: MARCH SCHEDULE:

QUOTES TO NOTE Again, it’s just getting back to the way we needed to play. It’s been our bread and butter all year. Obviously, Richie’s hitting another level and Gabby and Hags is playing out of this world and we got some big stops from Marty. - Brian Boyle Hagsy made some good passes tonight, but when I started playing with him a few weeks ago, he probably wouldn't have made them, so you can tell he has this confidence. He's seeing the ice. I think all three of us did tonight. He's making more plays now and that helps me, and it helps him get back open again to get the puck to the net. - Brad Richards Hagsy's developed. Kenny Gernander and those guys have done a good job down in Hartford. Like I told you, I wanted him here just for his speed. I wanted him out of camp for speed and to bring another young guy into our team, but he wasn’t ready. So it’s a credit to him and the people down in Hartford that I think taught him a little about positioning. He still has a lot to learn there. He still has a lot to learn as far as the grind of the game also but he’s coming along fine. - John Tortorella

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS TEAM STATS / STANDINGS: GP: 68 | W: 42 | L: 21 | OTL: 5 | Pts: 89 | GF: 219 | GA: 173 | PP%: 19.7 | PK%: 89.4 | FO%: 50.0 G/G: 3.09 | GA/G: 2.50 | HOME: 24-8-2 | AWAY: 18-13-3 | LAST 10: 9-1-0 | STREAK: W9 Division: 2nd | Conference: 4th | League: 5th TEAM LEADERS: Goals: Evgeni Malkin | 38 Assists: Evgeni Malkin | 46 Points: Evgeni Malkin | 84 +/-: Pascal Dupuis | +17 Hits: Brooks Orpik | 220 Blocks: Zbynek Michalek | 117 PIM: James Neal | 72 FO%: Joe Vitale | 55.5 TOI/G F: Evgeni Malkin | 21:14 TOI/G D: Kris Letang | 25:03 PROJECTED LINES: Chris Kunitz | Evgeni Malkin (A) | James Neal Matt Cooke | Sidney Crosby (C) | Tyler Kennedy Steve Sullivan | Jordan Staal (A) | Pascal Dupuis Arron Asham | Joe Vitale | Craig Adams Brooks Orpik | Zbynek Michalek Kris Letang | Paul Martin Deryk Engelland | Matt Niskanen *Scratches: Lovejoy, Tangradi STARTING GOALIE: Marc-Andre Fleury GPI: 57 | W: 37 | L: 14 | OT: 3 | SV% .917 | GAA: 2.26 | SO: 3 INJURIES / SUSPENSIONS / MISC: Brent Johnson - DTD: Undisclosed injury

NEW YORK RANGERS TEAM STATS / STANDINGS: GP: 69 | W: 44 | L: 18 | OTL: 7 | Pts: 95 | GF: 192 | GA: 150 | PP%: 14.6 | PK%: 86.5 | FO%: 50.1 G/G: 2.74 | GA/G: 2.10 | HOME: 24-7-2 | AWAY: 20-11-5 | LAST 10: 6-3-1 | STREAK: W2 Division: 1st | Conference: 1st | League: 2nd TEAM LEADERS: Goals: Marian Gaborik | 34 Assists: Gaborik, Richards, Stepan | 30 Points: Marian Gaborik | 64 +/-: Michael Del Zotto | +24 Hits: Ryan Callahan | 228 Blocks: Ryan McDonagh | 166 PIM: Brandon Prust | 142 FO%: Brad Richards | 51.6 TOI/G F: Ryan Callahan | 20:46 TOI/G D: Dan Girardi | 26:34 PROJECTED LINES: Carl Hagelin | Brad Richards (A) | Marian Gaborik Artem Anisimov | Derek Stepan | Brandon Dubinsky Ruslan Fedotenko | Brian Boyle | Brandon Prust Mike Rupp | John Mitchell | Mats Zuccarello Ryan McDonagh | Dan Girardi Marc Staal (A) | Stu Bickel Steve Eminger | Anton Stralman *Scratches: Scott, Woywitka STARTING GOALIE: Martin Biron GPI: 19 | W: 12 | L: 4 | OT: 2 | SV% .910 | GAA: 2.23 | SO: 2 INJURIES / SUSPENSIONS / MISC: Ryan Callahan - DTD: Sore foot Michael Del Zotto - DTD: Sore hip Michael Sauer - IR: Concussion

Heads Up: The GDT is a work in progress.

[DoTheBlue]

This is a biggie. With all the Crosby hype surrounding it and the ramifications for the the standings I want this one bad.

[Callagraves]

....I'm normally calm and level headed.


DESTROY THEM

[BlueshirtBlitz]

Win here and i'm confident we can win the President's Trophy.

[Killem Dafoe]

i am not looking forward to this one...not gunna lie

[Loffen]

Would be typical to see Crosby tear it up somehow... Just play him hard and make him think twice.

[Net Front Presence]

3-2 win. Lundqvist with 40 saves.

Hagelin
Gaborik
McDonagh

[t3hg00se]

This is probably the biggest remaining game of the regular season.

Make a statement boys!

[mrjimmyg89]

My guess is DZ plays for Eminger. Cally already said he's unlikely to play, but you never know. If that's the case, I'd sit Mitchell for Cally. Zuke has played well enough to stay out there.

This is the biggest game of the season. It's gone from the games against Boston, to the games against Pittsburgh. Time for the team to prove itself again.

4-2 win

Gaborik
Stepan
Anisimov
DZ

Neal
Kennedy

[Placid]

With the shaky defense we've had recently, facing Malkin, Staal and Crosby, etc etc is... well.. downright scary.

Will be watching, and hoping for a solid effort from the guys

[Net Front Presence]

I bet Cally will have a hard time sitting this one out. Unless he can't skate whatsoever, I say he'll decide to give it a go.

[MAC TRUCK]

Another big game for us to win this season.

(can we make them wear Flyers uniforms?)

[CaliDubiZib]

Gonna feel good to chant "Crosby Sucks!" again.

[Glennsoe]

Watch for the refs to watch Sid's back tonight..

Hope it takes more than looking at his number to Get a boarding penalty..

I'm predicting a couple of fights tonight, they will try to protect him as best they can..

[Blueshirt Special]

This is a great learning opportunity. This game will likely represent what the pens will be like in the playoffs. Now is the time to figure out what works.

The win/loss is secondary to the bigger playoff picture IMHO.

[Grind Jam Grind]

NBCSN has been promoting the **** out of this game. Last night, they talked more about it than about the Aves-Sabres game.

Get off to a fast start, shoot high on Fleury-that's where they had success last time Cindy played at the Garden. Michelin line needs a strong performance.

Who else is going? Tonight, I want the Potvin Sucks converted to Crosby Sucks.

[CaliDubiZib]

Originally Posted by Henriks Broadway Hat

NBCSN has been promoting the **** out of this game. Last night, they talked more about it than about the Aves-Sabres game.

Get off to a fast start, shoot high on Fleury-that's where they had success last time Cindy played at the Garden. Michelin line needs a strong performance.

Who else is going? Tonight, I want the Potvin Sucks converted to Crosby Sucks.

Can you explain th Michelin thing to me? I'm too dumb to understand it

Also, me and my seat neighbor have been doing 'Crosby Sucks' all year

[IceBear86]

Cindy lovefest incoming (NBC, NHL.com). Will be tough to win this one, 2 points would be awesome.

[Grind Jam Grind]

Originally Posted by Bipolar

Can you explain th Michelin thing to me? I'm too dumb to understand it

Also, me and my seat neighbor have been doing 'Crosby Sucks' all year

I'm not the one who thought of it, but it's a mixture of the names of the Hags-Richie-Gabby line.

M-Marian
Ichie-Richards
Elin-Hagelin

[Ailurophile]

Oh boy, Hank needs to be in god mode and the defense needs to be relentless.

Please score more than 2.

Pumped for this game, winner tonight comes out on top of the East, imo.

[Grind Jam Grind]

Can anyone answer this:

Was this game originally going to be on NBCSN? because those games usually start at 7:30. Or did they go out of their way to broadcast it anyway because Cindy's back? I feel like the next game we had on NBCSN was Monday vs the Debs, not this one.

[Megustaelhockey]

Originally Posted by Henriks Broadway Hat

Can anyone answer this:

Was this game originally going to be on NBCSN? because those games usually start at 7:30. Or did they go out of their way to broadcast it anyway because Cindy's back? I feel like the next game we had on NBCSN was Monday vs the Debs, not this one.

It really looks like they added this game to the national networks (US/CAN) because of Sidney Crosby's comeback, but it was not scheduled to be.

[Ih8theislanders]

I am ****ing pumped for this game. I'm honestly glad Sid's back, he's a really fun player to watch and to be the best we gotta beat the best, which he is.

[darko]

We'll beat them.

LGR

[Ih8theislanders]

Originally Posted by Megustaelhockey

It really looks like they added this game to the national networks (US/CAN) because of Sidney Crosby's comeback, but it was not scheduled to be.

They did. They did the same thing when he returned in November.