Pens Points: New York Minute

For the first time this season, the Pittsburgh Penguins are preparing to play back-to-back games, with the front end taking place tonight in New York City where they will be completing a four game road trip before heading home for the back end tomorrow night. As it was on Saturday evening, the Penguins will face-off against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden, looking to keep their perfect record against the Rangers intact.

Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 PM and will be broadcast on NBC Sports Network.

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In the absence of numerous defenseman, Pierre-Olivier Joseph has been called upon to plug the holes on the blue line. Through the first five games of his young career, he’s done all that and more with his break out performance coming Saturday night. [Pensburgh]

It was long predicted that Joseph was on track to make his NHL debut at some point this season, though few believed it could come this early and under these circumstances. Depleted on blue line, Joseph and turned out to be just the player the Pens needed. [Trib Live]

Everyone expected the East division to be an all out war this season and so far it has lived up to the hype. As teams approach the 10 game mark, five sit within five points of the division lead with the Penguins currently clinging to the No. 4 spot. [Pensburgh]

When the Penguins hit the ice against the Rangers, they will look a bit different than we have ever seen them before. Tonight will be the debut of the newly released ‘reverse retro’ uniforms that will appears five other times as the season goes along. [Penguins]

As the Penguins search for a new general manage continues, there is one potential candidate that you can scratch off the list. Montreal Canadiens assistant general manager Scott Mellanby has removed himself from the running according to reports. [TSN]

Being an NHL general manager is one of the premier jobs in the league and having the opportunity to work for one of the premier franchises makes the Penguins opening very appealing to any potential candidate up for the job. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

News and notes from around the NHL...

After signing a new contract in October, it looked like Tony DeAngelo was going to be a fixture on the Rangers blue line. That appears to no longer be the case after the team placed the struggling defenseman on waivers Sunday afternoon. [ESPN]

While DeAngelo was struggling on the ice, there may have been more to his release than what meets the eye. Reports state that DeAngelo was involved in an off-ice altercation with teammate Alex Georgiev after Saturday’s loss. [Blueshirt Banter]