Rangers begin long trip back to playoffs against Penguins

About a year ago, the New York Rangers returned mostly the same cast who guided them to the Presidents' Trophy in 2023-24 and within two games of the Stanley Cup Final.

While there may have been some issues bubbling along the surface, the Rangers hardly envisioned the chaos and roster turnover that resulted in them falling short of the postseason.

Following one of the more tumultuous seasons in recent memory, the Rangers hope to begin what they hope is a return to the playoffs under new coach Mike Sullivan on Tuesday night when they host Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the rest of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

New York opened last season with a 6-0 victory at Pittsburgh on Oct. 9, yet nine players who appeared in that game are no longer with the team. Among them are Chris Kreider, who was traded to the Anaheim Ducks in the offseason.

Moving Kreider is among the six trades the Rangers made since last year's season opener. The biggest was acquiring J.T. Miller from the Vancouver Canucks. Miller scored 13 goals and totaled 35 points in 32 games before being named team captain during the offseason.

"We didn't really have any interest in starting camp without one, and we obviously thought he [Miller] was a terrific choice," general manager Chris Drury told reporters during training camp. "Just the way he prepares, he plays, how hard he competes. He goes over the boards, he's looking to get into the fight and he drags people into it. That's what we need."

The Rangers also are counting on bigger production from Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad. Panarin's point total dropped from 120 points to 89, while Zibanejad's dropped from 72 points to 62 and down from 91 in 2022-23. There is hope Zibanejad will be rejuvenated by playing a full season as Miller's linemate.

Panarin missed time in the preseason with an upper-body injury but is expected to suit up Tuesday along with Miller, who missed time last week with a lower-body ailment.

Sullivan parted ways with the Penguins on April 28 after missing the playoffs for the third straight season. With the Penguins, he was 409-255-89 after taking over early in the 2015-16 season.

The Penguins are returning with Crosby and Malkin, along with Kris Letang. Crosby finished with 91 points last season for his third straight 90-plus-point campaign, but Malkin's production dipped to 50 points.

"Just having him be our coach for that long, that's pretty rare that a coach has a stint like that," Crosby said about Sullivan. "Ten years is a long time, and I think the fact that we won together, that we had so much experience with him as our coach -- good years where we won, and then years where we didn't make the playoffs -- that's a lot. ... I just appreciate all the time that we had."

This season's version of the Penguins will feature a bit of a youth movement under new coach Dan Muse, including Ville Koivunen, who may be on a line with Crosby and Rickard Rakell.

The Penguins did add a few veterans by signing Anthony Mantha and Noel Acciari for their forward group. Pittsburgh also added Mathew Dumba to the defense in front of goalie Tristan Jarry, whose .893 save percentage and 3.12 goals-against average were career worsts.

New York is 10-4-1 in the teams' past 15 meetings since the start of the 2021-22 season.

-Field Level Media