Pens Points: Blueshirts Come to the ‘Burgh

Over six months since their seven game thriller in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers will renew their rivalry for the first time this season. The Rangers will come to town riding high on a seven game winning streak, the same length of the Penguins recent win streak that was snapped on Sunday. Slow starts from both sides put them in an early hole this season, but recent turnarounds have them both back in the playoff picture, separated by only a point in the division standings.

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

Dive into Pens Points to get your game day started...

Christmas is nearly here which means the NHL will hit pause for its CBA-mandated holiday break beginning Friday. Before then, the Penguins have two crucial showdowns with the Rangers this evening and the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday. [Pensburgh]

As the NHL enters the aforementioned holiday break, the league puts a roster freeze in place that began at midnight and run through December 28th. No trades or waivers can be completed during this period but players can be recalled. [Pensburgh]

Some positive and negative news coming from Penguins practice on Monday. Forward Jason Zucker was present and in a normal contact jersey though his status remains the same. Fellow forward Josh Archibald was absent due to injury. [Trib Live]

Sunday night’s loss to the Carolina Hurricanes brought an end to the Penguins seven game winning streak but another streak remained alive. With an assist to Rickard Rakell, Evgeni Malkin pushed his season high point streak to eight games. [Pensburgh]

In just under two weeks, the Penguins will take it outside for a Winter Classic matchup against the Boston Bruins. Between now and then, it will up to Mike Sullivan to prepare his team for a game unlike any other they will play this season. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]

Pride games have become more and more popular across the NHL and the Penguins just hosted their third annual ‘Pride Night’ last week. For hockey fans of the LGBTQ+ community, these games serve as a night of celebration. [Penguins]

News and notes from around the NHL...

Things go from bad to worse for the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday. Not only are they dropping like a rock in the standings, their head coach is mad at their best player and another key offensive piece has been ruled out for the season. [BSH & BSH]

Before the roster freeze went into effect, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Colorado Avalanche got a trade in under the wire. Dennis Malgin goes to Colorado in exchange for Dryden Hunt coming back to Toronto. [Pension Plan Puppets]

Success is fleeting in the NHL and can disappear in an instant. After a hot start to the season, the New Jersey Devils have come crashing back to earth in recent weeks and their large division lead has suddenly vanished. [All About the Jersey]