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Penguins look to get defensive against Rangers

Oct 25, 2008 - 10:42 AM Pittsburgh (5-2-1) at NY Rangers (7-2-1), 7:00 pm EDT

NEW YORK (Ticker) -- Thanks to the abilities of captain Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the Pittsburgh Penguins have developed the reputation as an explosive offensive club. That, however, hasn't been their best trait lately.

Yielding just one goal in each of their last three games, the Penguins hope to continue their stellar defensive play when visit the New York Rangers on Saturday.

Crosby started slowly this season, failing to score a goal in Pittsburgh's first five contests. The talented superstar has come on of late with two tallies in the last three games - including his 100th career tally on Thursday.

For his part, Malkin has been effective all season and leads the league with 13 points.

Playing without star blue-liner Sergei Gonchar, Pittsburgh is coming off a 4-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday. The Penguins also notched a 2-1 triumph over the Boston Bruins on Monday and a 4-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs last Saturday.

Meanwhile, New York had suffered from a mild two-game losing streak this week before bouncing back with a strong effort on Friday. Nikolai Zherdev registered one goal and two assists and Henrik Lundqvist made 25 saves as the Rangers cruised to a 3-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

This game marks the first matchup between the two Eastern Conference juggernauts since the Penguins eliminated the Rangers in the Eastern Conference semifinals last season.