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Friday, 06 January 2012 14:01

Written by Seth Rorabaugh

A preview of the Rangers.

When and where: 7 p.m., EST. Consol Energy Center.

TV: Root Sports, MSG 2, NHL Network (United States - outside the Pittsburgh and New York markets - and Canada).

Record: 25-9-4, 54 points. The Rangers are in first place in the Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division.

Leading Scorer: Marian Gaborik, 34 points (23 goals, 11 assists).

Last Game: 3-2 home win against the Panthers, last night. Gaborik scored in overtime for the Rangers.

Last Game against the Penguins: 4-3 home win, Nov. 29. James Neal had a goal and an assist for the Penguins.

Rangers Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Gaborik. He has 19 points in 19 career games against the Penguins.

Ex-Penguins on the Rangers: Erik Christensen, C; Ruslan Fedotenko, Rick Kehoe, professional scout; Mike Rupp (above), C; Glen Sather, general manager.

Ex-Rangers on the Penguins: Pascal Dupuis, RW; Tony Granato, assistant coach.

Useless Rangers Trivia Vaguely Related to the Penguins: Former Penguins forward Andy Bathgate holds the Rangers' franchise record for most consecutive seasons as the team's leading scorer. He led the Rangers in points from 1956-57 until 1962-63.

Best Rangers Video We Could Find: It's not even a week old, but Rupp's salute in Monday's Winter Classic has to get the nod:

Probable goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury (19-9-2, 2.26 GAA, .914 SV%) for the Penguins. Henrik Lundqvist (17-7-4, 1.92 GAA, .937 SV%) for the Rangers.

Injuries: For the Penguins, defenseman Zbynek Michalek (undisclosed) is questionable. Defensemen Robert Bortuzzo (head), Kris Letang (head), centers Sidney Crosby (head) and Dustin Jeffrey (knee). For the Rangers, center Wojtek Wolski (groin) is out. Defensemen Steve Eminger (shoulder) and Michael Sauer (concussion) are on injured reserve.

Potential lines and defensive pairings: The Penguins' lines at today's morning skate were (PG+):

Chris Kunitz - Evgeni Malkin - James Neal
Pascal Dupuis - Jordan Staal - Tyler Kennedy
Matt Cooke - Richard Park - Steve Sullivan
Craig Adams - Joe Vitale - Colin McDonald

This is a guess at their defensive pairings given Michalek's injury:

Brooks Orpik - Matt Niskanen
Zbynek Michalek - Paul Martin
Deryk Engelland - Ben Lovejoy

-The Rangers primary lines and defensive pairings against the Panthers last night were:

Artem Anisimov - Derek Stepan - Marian Gaborik
Brandon Dubinsky - Brad Richards - Ryan Callahan
Carl Hagelin - Brian Boyle - Ruslan Fedotenko
Mike Rupp - John Mitchell - Brandon Prust

Ryan McDonagh - Dan Girardi
Michael Del Zotto - Anton Stralman
Marc Staal - Stu Bickell

Notes:

-With a win tonight, Dan Bylsma will break a tie with Michel Therrien for second-most coaching wins in franchise history. Each has 135. Eddie Johnston holds the record with 232.

-Martin has 197 career points.

-Park has 97 career goals.

-Our live blog begins at approximately 6 p.m. Please tune in.

(Photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

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