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Defending Stanley Cup champion Florida opened its season with a 3-2 win over Chicago on a third-period goal by Jesper Boqvist.
The Penguins–Rangers game is scoreless in the first period, with Avalanche–Kings coming later. Follow live as The Athletic’s NHL writers cover all the action tonight.
Schedule (Times ET):
Streaming: Fubo (Stream Free Now). Get in touch with us: live@theathletic.com
Ben Kindel…impressive hockey player.
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P1 4:24 – Penguins 0, Rangers 0
Vincent Trocheck rips a slapshot on target but Arturs Silovs in unamused, pushing the shot away with ease.
Moments later, Philip Tomasino is denied by Igor Shesterkin. The puck drifted to a dangerous spot on the ice but Tomasino did not have much force behind that shot, floating right into the chest of Shesterkin for an easy save.
Credit to the Rangers on that PK. Suffocating on zone entries. Power kill type stuff.
The Rangers first penalty kill went much better than their opening power play. They didn't allow any shots. Sam Carrick, Vincent Trocheck, Will Cuylle, Mika Zibanejad, Taylor Raddysh and rookie Noah Laba handled the killing responsibility among forwards.
The Penguins might be in a rebuilding mode, but Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin — playing together to start the game — remain dangerous. They hemmed in the Rangers' Will Cuylle–J.T. Miller–Mika Zibanejad line and put multiple shots on Igor Shesterkin. The Rangers' goaltender stood firm, and Adam Fox drew a penalty on rookie Harrison Brunicke shortly after leaving the zone. Unfortunately for New York, the top power play unit struggled to generate much of anything. Alexis Lafrenière, playing on the second unit, got the team's first shot on goal with 13 seconds left on the power play.
P1 9:09 – Penguins 0, Rangers 0
New York does not allow a shot on target, stifling the Pittsburgh power play.
Both teams have rallied to the puck, taking away passing and shooting angles thus far.
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What a play by Rickard Rakell. Skated right into the D to handcuff them and then cut directly into a shooting lane and got one off from a fresh angle while falling to the ice. He finds that middle of the ice so well. Great example there.
P1 7:33 – Penguins 0, Rangers 0
New York returns the favor, giving Pittsburgh its first power play of the season.
Adam Fox is called for interference against Sidney Crosby
The lighter blue/overall color scheme for the New York Rangers looks really fresh. The collars are just throwing me.
P1 13:16 – Penguins 0, Rangers 0
There have been six shots on target through the first seven minutes, two by New York and four by Pittsburgh.
Even the Rangers power play was rather uneventful and did not put any real pressure on the Penguins defense.
P1 15:51 – Penguins 0, Rangers 0
Pittsburgh kills New York's power play.
The Rangers only mustered one shot on goal, which was saved with a nice effort by Arturs Silovs.
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The Sidney Crosby line is as dangerous as ever. He generated multiple high-danger chances on his first shift. Igor Shesterkin stood strong, though, and then rookie Harrison Brunicke tripped Adam Fox to give the Rangers an early PP.
P1 19:01 – Penguins 0, Rangers 0
The Rangers have already earned a power play.
Harrison Brunicke, on his first NHL shift, is called for hooking Adam Fox.
P1 20:00 – Penguins 0, Rangers 0
New York wins the opening faceoff and off we go at Madison Square Garden …
Penguins starting lineup: Sid, Geno, Kindel, Letang, Brunicke.
During Rangers' introductions, the crowd gave a nice round of applause to assistant David Quinn — the team's former head coach — when he was announced on the video board. He saluted the crowd. Mike Sullivan, unsurprisingly, got the biggest cheer of the staffers.
The players gathered around the center ice centennial logo as they were announced one by one. Igor Shesterkin, Artemi Panarin, Matt Rempe, Mika Zibanejad and new captain J.T. Miller all received loud ovations.
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The Rangers are going all in on commemorating their 100th anniversary season. Their centennial logo is on everything from the Jumbotron to popcorn containers, and there are centennial t-shirts for fans on every seat.
Despite the commemoration of the past, it’s a year of change for the Original Six franchise. Mike Sullivan will debut as head coach, and J.T. Miller will debut as captain. Per the NHL, it’s the first time the Rangers have had a new coach and new captain in the season opener since 1978. Dave Maloney, who took over as captain that year, is now one of the team’s TV broadcasters.
The Rangers wore their lighter centennial jerseys for the first time.
Check out the ovation for Mike Sullivan at Madison Square Garden …
Below are some of your postgame thoughts on the Florida Panthers beating the Chicago Blackhawks:
