Tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET, the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins take the ice at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh for Game 2 of their Round 2 best-of-seven series as part of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The game can be live streamed for free here. New York fans can hear all of the action on 98.7 WEPN while Pittsburgh fans can do the same on 105.9 WXDX.
New York looks to bring a 2-0 series lead home with it while Pittsburgh hopes to nod things up after dropping Game 1 in order to tie up the series before heading to New York. The Rangers topped the Penguins 3-2 in overtime in Game 1 off of a goal by Derick Brassard.
The Rangers enter Game 2 in the midst of a busy schedule. The team played the Philadelphia Flyers in Games 6 and 7 of their Round 1 series on Tuesday and Wednesday of last week and then played Pittsburgh in Game 1 on Friday and will play them in Game 2 tonight before traveling to New York for Game 3 Monday.
Still, the team claims the fatigue factor isn't a problem.
"We're fine," forward Benoit Pouliot, who had a goal and assisted on Brassard's Game 1 winner, said per NHL.com. "It's not like we're traveling so far away. We played seven games and the seventh one was a grueling match, but I think most of us have been through it. It's the NHL."
New York is 0-for-25 on the power play and will be looking to turn it around.
The Penguins trail a series in the 2014 postseason for the first time and will look to figure out what is wrong as the team has dug itself into early holes frequently in these playoffs and has also given up leads. Captain Sidney Crosby (six assists) has yet to find the back of the net in the postseason.
"Through six games, now seven games in the playoffs, sometimes I think the questions are 'Why [hasn't Crosby] scored?' and 'Do you need to score?'" Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said per NHL.com. "He's had scoring chances. He had, in the first round, 27 scoring chances on even strength. He had a point a game through the first six games."
The Penguins have three players with eight points in the playoffs including Evgeni Malkin (three goals, five assists), Matt Niskanen (two tallies, six helpers) and Paul Martin (eight assists). James Neal and Lee Stempniak each notched their second goals of the playoffs in Game 1 on Friday.
Aside from Pouliot and Brassard, Brad Richards also found the twine for New York in Game 1 on his 34th birthday. Richards has a team-high seven points in the playoffs off of three goals and four assists while Pouliot (three makers, three helpers) and Martin St. Louis (two goals, four assists) are each tied for second with six points.
Henrik Lundqvist will man the crease for New York after allowing two goals and making 34 saves in Game 1 to lift his 2014 postseason record to 5-3 with a 2.08 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage. Pittsburgh counters with Marc-Andre Fleury, who is 4-3 this postseason with a 2.82 GAA and a .905 save percentage. Fleury yielded three goals in the Game 1 loss while turning aside 24 shots.
The Rangers and Penguins go head-to-head in Round 2 of their best-of-seven series when the puck drops at the Consol Energy Center tonight in Pittsburgh as part of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
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