The Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers will play their second of three meetings this week on Thursday.
A couple of weeks ago, it looked like a foregone conclusion that the Blueshirts would finish third in the Metropolitan Division and set up a Round 1 matchup with the New Jersey Devils.
But a 7-2-1 stretch from the Pens coincided with a 5-5-2 run from the Rangers, and all of a sudden, these upcoming meetings have some jeopardy for both sides.
Pittsburgh’s loss to Montreal on Tuesday night and New York’s win over Washington eased the burden on the Rangers a bit, but if the Pens can win these next two contests in regulation, they’ll only be four points back of the Blueshirts with 13 games left to play.
Can Pittsburgh make things interesting with a win as a road underdog on Thursday night?
Betting on the NHL?
Penguins vs. Rangers prediction
(7 p.m. ET., ESPN+)
Not only did the Penguins lose to the lowly Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night, but they also saw two veteran defensemen — Jeff Petry and Jan Rutta — get injured.
Neither Petry nor Rutta are top-pair players at this point in their careers, but Pittsburgh is already thin on the blueline with newly-acquired Dmitry Kulikov already out week to week.
Pittsburgh’s depth at defense is just one of its flaws this season, but it’s far from the only one.
The team’s bottom-six also has struggled for big chunks of the season, and the Pens addressed that issue by trading for Nick Bonino to settle in as the No. 4 center.
Now Bonino is also hurt.
But none of these problems are as big as what is going on with the goaltending.
Tristan Jarry has a .863 save percentage and has been pulled three times in nine games since returning from a hip injury, meaning the team will likely lean on Casey DeSmith down the stretch.
DeSmith has solid numbers in 2022-23, but his career statistics rate him out as a No. 2 goaltender.
The Penguins looked to have stabilized with their recent stretch of results, but the team is still struggling to prevent scoring chances.
The Pens are creating enough offense to make up for it, but that job will only get harder with the injuries on the blueline and the inconsistency in goal.
The Rangers have not been at their best for a bit now, but this matchup should set up well for them to exploit Pittsburgh’s leaky defense.
The edge in goaltending is also quite stark.
Penguins vs. Rangers pick
Rangers -1.5 (+165, BetMGM)
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