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Tuesday, 21 February 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 Plus.

Record: 38-14-5, 81 points. The Rangers are in first place in the Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division.

Leading Scorer: Marian Gaborik, 50 points (27 goals, 23 assists).

Last Game: 3-2 home overtime win against the Blue Jackets, Sunday. Henrik Lundqvist made 21 save for the Rangers.

Last Game against the Penguins: 4-1 home loss, Jan. 19. Evgeni Malkin had two goals for the Penguins.

Rangers Player We Would Bet Money On Scoring: Brad Richards (right). He has 32 points in 30 career games against the Penguins.

Ex-Penguins on the Rangers: Ruslan Fedotenko, Rick Kehoe, professional scout; Mike Rupp, 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: Current Penguins assistant coach Tony Granato holds the Rangers record for goals by a rookie. He had 36 in 1988-89.

Best Rangers Video We Could Find: Former Rangers goaltender Mike Richter taking a slapper off the lid from Canucks left winger Pavel Bure during Game 6 of the 1994 Stanley Cup Final:

Probable goaltenders: Marc-Andre Fleury (30-14-3, 2.41 GAA, .909 SV%) for the Penguins. Henrik Lundqvist (28-11-4, 1.78 GAA, .940 SV%) for the Rangers.

Injuries: For the Penguins, goaltender Brent Johnson (undisclosed) and defenseman Brooks Orpik ("upper body") are out. Center Sidney Crosby (head/neck) and center Tyler Kennedy (ankle) are on injured reserve. For the Rangers, left winger Ruslan Fedotenko ("upper body") is day to day. Defenseman Michael Sauer (concussion) is on injured reserve.

Potential lines and defensive pairings: The Penguins' lines at todays' morning skate were:

Chris Kunitz - Evgeni Malkin - James Neal
Steve Sullivan - Jordan Staal - Pascal Dupuis/Dustin Jeffrey
Matt Cooke - Joe Vitale - Arron Asham
Eric Tangradi - Craig Adams - Richard Park

Their defensemen rotated. Consider this a guess at their pairings:

Kris Letang - Zbynek Michalek
Paul Martin - Matt Niskanen
Ben Lovejoy - Deryk Engelland

-With Ruslan Fedotenko close to returning from an injury, the Rangers lineup is considered a game-time decision according to head coach John Tortorella. Consider this a guess based off their primary lines and defensive pairings against the Blue Jackets Sunday:

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

Ryan McDonagh - Dan Girardi
Michael Del Zotto - Anton Stralman
Marc Staal - Steve Eminger

Notes:

-The last time the Penguins played the Rangers, this happened:

-Brad Thiessen was recalled. With Johnson "not feeling good," Thiessen will back up Fleury.

-Sullivan has appeared in 949 career games.

-Malkin has 299 career assists.

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

(Photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

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