The New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins play the front end of a two-game weekend series in Pittsburgh on Friday night, their first meeting of the year. The Pens are favoured on the NHL odds with an opening total of 6.5 goals.

The teams play again Sunday, and then back-to-back games at Madison Square Garden on Jan. 30 & Feb. 1. Friday is New York’s first road game of the early season.

Rangers vs. Penguins Betting Analysis

Thankfully, the NHL didn’t split these rivals up when they switched around divisions, this season. The teams only managed to play just one game in the shortened 2019-20 campaign (three were set for after the shutdown) and the Rangers won 3-2 at home in overtime behind two goals from Kaapo Kakko, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 draft. He had the winner at 2:24 of OT.

Alexandar Georgiev finished with 30 saves in the win, although he blew a 2-0 lead after one period. Justin Schultz and Jared McCann scored for the Penguins, who were without superstar Sidney Crosby. Matt Murray (now in Ottawa) took the loss.

Crosby loves facing the Rangers, as in 67 regular-season games against them he has 33 goals with 56 assists and a plus/minus rating of plus-17. Dating to his Blackhawks days, Rangers star Artemi Panarin has nine goals and seven assists with a plus-6 rating in 13 games against Pittsburgh.

New York Rangers

New York has allowed four goals in each of its two losses and none in its lone victory. The Blueshirts were beaten 4-3 at home by New Jersey on Tuesday – allowing three Devils goals in the second period. It’s not often that a team loses when outshooting its opponent by 22, but that was the case as New York had 50 shots on goal to New Jersey’s 28. The Rangers also had two power-play goals. Georgiev was pulled after two periods and allowing four goals on 20 shots. Igor Shesterkin stopped all eight shots he faced, and he will start on Friday. Monitor the status of Rangers centre Mika Zibanejad, as he suffered an undisclosed injury in the third period of the New Jersey game. He has one goal and one assist this season, after finishing first on the team with 41 goals last year. The Rangers think Zibanejad will be available to play on Friday. New York is 6-16 in their past 22 Friday games.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh lost its first two games of the season by multiple goals each in Philadelphia, but then they won both of their home games against Washington in extra time. The Pens were 5-4 overtime winners Tuesday, after rallying from a 4-2 deficit, midway through the second period. Crosby had the game-winning goal at 1:11 of OT and added two assists, to be the game’s No. 1 star. Crosby leads the team with five points, while Evgeni Malkin added his first goal and point of the season. Casey DeSmith got the start in net; in theory, DeSmith was supposed to be the No. 2 to Tristan Jarry, but he has been much better than Jarry thus far, with a 2-0-0 record and 2.76 GAA, while Jarry is 0-2-2 with a 7.57 GAA. It’s not clear yet, who will start on Friday. Pittsburgh is 7-3 in its past 10 Friday games.

NHL Prediction: Who Will Win Rangers vs. Penguins?

• Regular Season

Rangers Team Leaders

NYR

Points	Artemi Panarin 18
+ / -	Kevin Rooney 5
Shots	Mika Zibanejad 51
Penalty Mins	Chris Kreider 19
Wins	Igor Shesterkin 4
GAA	Igor Shesterkin 2.4

PIT

Points	Jake Guentzel 16
+ / -	Kasperi Kapanen 7
Shots	Bryan Rust 65
Penalty Mins	Chad Ruhwedel 14
Wins	Tristan Jarry 6
GAA	Casey DeSmith 2.84

• Regular Season

Penguins Team Leaders

NYR

Points	Artemi Panarin 18
+ / -	Kevin Rooney 5
Shots	Mika Zibanejad 51
Penalty Mins	Chris Kreider 19
Wins	Igor Shesterkin 4
GAA	Igor Shesterkin 2.4

PIT

Points	Jake Guentzel 16
+ / -	Kasperi Kapanen 7
Shots	Bryan Rust 65
Penalty Mins	Chad Ruhwedel 14
Wins	Tristan Jarry 6
GAA	Casey DeSmith 2.84

Injuries

NY Rangers

K'Andre Miller (D)

Out indefinitely Illness - 24 / 02 / 21

Artemi Panarin (LW)

Out indefinitely Personal - 22 / 02 / 21

Kaapo Kakko (RW)

Out indefinitely Illness - 20 / 02 / 21

Jacob Trouba (D)

Late March Thumb - 17 / 02 / 21

K'Andre Miller (D)

Prob Sat Upper Body - 15 / 02 / 21

Artemi Panarin (LW)

Ques Thurs Lower Body - 11 / 02 / 21

Brendan Smith (D)

Ques Tues Upper Body - 04 / 02 / 21

Kaapo Kakko (RW)

Ques Thurs Illness - 01 / 02 / 21

Colin Blackwell (C)

Ques Fri Upper Body - 30 / 01 / 21

Jack Johnson (D)

Out indefinitely Groin - 28 / 01 / 21

Pittsburgh

Kris Letang (D)

Ques Thurs Undisclosed - 24 / 02 / 21

Jason Zucker (LW)

Out indefinitely Undisclosed - 24 / 02 / 21

Casey DeSmith (G)

Ques Tues Illness - 14 / 02 / 21

Evgeni Malkin (C)

Prob Thurs Eye - 11 / 02 / 21

Mike Matheson (D)

Ques Thurs Undisclosed - 08 / 02 / 21

Jared McCann (LW)

Out indefinitely Lower Body - 07 / 02 / 21

John Marino (D)

Out indefinitely Illness - 03 / 02 / 21

Kris Letang (D)

Ques Sat Lower Body - 30 / 01 / 21

John Marino (D)

Prob Thurs Undisclosed - 28 / 01 / 21

Yannick Weber (D)

Ques Sat Personal - 28 / 01 / 21

Injuries

NY Rangers

player (position)	status		ats*current	o/u*	notes
K'Andre Miller (D)	Out indefinitely	Illness - 24 / 02 / 21	2-0	1-1	+ -
Miller has been added to the COVID-19 Protocol list, and will be out of commission for an undetermined length of time.
Artemi Panarin (LW)	Out indefinitely	Personal - 22 / 02 / 21	2-0	1-1	+ -
Panarin has been granted a leave of absence regarding a personal matter, and there is no timetable for return.
Kaapo Kakko (RW)	Out indefinitely	Illness - 20 / 02 / 21	3-0	1-2	+ -
Kakko has been placed on the COVID-19 Protocol list, and team officials have yet to provide an exact return date.
Jacob Trouba (D)	Late March	Thumb - 17 / 02 / 21	3-1	2-2	+ -
Trouba has been designated for the injured reserve list due to a thumb injury, and he is expected to be sidelined for four to six weeks.
K'Andre Miller (D)	Prob Sat	Upper Body - 15 / 02 / 21	4-1	2-3	+ -
Miller missed the last two games due to an upper-body injury, but he is likely to play against the Capitals on Saturday.
Artemi Panarin (LW)	Ques Thurs	Lower Body - 11 / 02 / 21	5-1	2-4	+ -
Panarin has sat out the last two games with a lower-body injury, and it remains to be seen if he will be available Thursday versus the Flyers.
Brendan Smith (D)	Ques Tues	Upper Body - 04 / 02 / 21	7-2	2-7	+ -
Smith has missed the last four games with an upper body injury, and it is unknown if he will not be active for Tuesday's matchup with the Devils.
Kaapo Kakko (RW)	Ques Thurs	Illness - 01 / 02 / 21	8-2	3-7	+ -
Kakko has been added to the NHL's COVID protocol list, and it is unknown if he will be available for Thursday's game against the Capitals.
Colin Blackwell (C)	Ques Fri	Upper Body - 30 / 01 / 21	9-2	3-8	+ -
Blackwell was held out of the last four contests due to an upper-body injury, and it is unknown if he will participate in Friday's battle with the Bruins.
Jack Johnson (D)	Out indefinitely	Groin - 28 / 01 / 21	10-2	3-9	+ -
Johnson has been held out of the lineup due to a groin strain, and he will miss an undetermined length of time.

Pittsburgh

player (position)	status		ats*current	o/u*	notes
Kris Letang (D)	Ques Thurs	Undisclosed - 24 / 02 / 21	1-1	1-1	+ -
Letang was forced from the last game with an unspecified ailment, and it is unclear if he will be available for Thursday's tilt with the Capitals.
Jason Zucker (LW)	Out indefinitely	Undisclosed - 24 / 02 / 21	1-1	1-1	+ -
Zucker has been assigned to the injured reserve list with a lower-body injury, and team officials have yet to provide an exact return date.
Casey DeSmith (G)	Ques Tues	Illness - 14 / 02 / 21	3-4	3-4	+ -
DeSmith missed the last game due to an illness, and it is unclear if he will play against Capitals on Tuesday.
Evgeni Malkin (C)	Prob Thurs	Eye - 11 / 02 / 21	3-5	4-4	+ -
Malkin is dealing with an eye injury, but he is expected to be in the line up Thursday versus the Islanders.
Mike Matheson (D)	Ques Thurs	Undisclosed - 08 / 02 / 21	3-5	4-4	+ -
Matheson is dealing with an undisclosed injury, and is is unknown if he will play Thursday versus the Islanders.
Jared McCann (LW)	Out indefinitely	Lower Body - 07 / 02 / 21	3-5	4-4	+ -
McCann has landed on the injured reserve list due to a lower-body injury, and it is unknown when he will return to the ice.
John Marino (D)	Out indefinitely	Illness - 03 / 02 / 21	3-6	4-5	+ -
Marino has been added to the COVID-19 Protocol list, and it is unknown how long it will take him to get cleared.
Kris Letang (D)	Ques Sat	Lower Body - 30 / 01 / 21	3-8	5-6	+ -
Letang was held out of the previous game with a lower-body injury, and it is unknown if he will face the Islanders on Saturday.
John Marino (D)	Prob Thurs	Undisclosed - 28 / 01 / 21	4-8	5-7	+ -
Marino sustained an unspecified injury in the previous game, but it is likely that he will face the Bruins on Thursday.
Yannick Weber (D)	Ques Sat	Personal - 28 / 01 / 21	4-8	5-7	+ -
Weber missed the previous game due to travel complications, and it is unknown if he will be available against the Rangers on Saturday.