The memories are fresh, which means any psychological scars are, too.
It was, after all, just last Friday that the Penguins sputtered and stumbled through their worst performance of the season, a 5-1 loss to the Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
New York dominated play from the earliest shifts of that game, building a 3-0 lead in the first 4:16 of play and never being seriously threatened. Pretty much every facet of the Penguins' game looked out of sorts, while the Rangers were efficient and effective in just about about everything they did.
"They played extremely well," Mike Sullivan said after the Penguins' game-day skate Tuesday. "But we certainly didn't have the type of effort that lives up to the expectation of the Pittsburgh Penguins. That, for me, was disappointing, from our standpoint. We have an opportunity to respond tonight."
That's because the teams will meet again at 7:08 p.m. at PPG Paints Arena in a game that will determine at least temporary possession of second place in the Metropolitan Division, since the Rangers trail the Penguins by one point.
"We could potentially be playing each other (in Round 1 of the playoffs)," Brian Dumoulin said. "Obviously now, we're jockeying for position. These are measuring stick-type games that we have to get up for. We have to have more emotion (than last Friday)."
Tonight's game will be the third of four between these teams during the regular season. The Penguins won the first, 1-0, at home on Feb. 26.
"The first game we played against them, there wasn't a lot of ice on either side," Sullivan said. "It was just a hard-fought game."
The Penguins figure to play a lot of those during the final month of the regular season, when their schedule is laden with teams that will qualify for the postseason. Which, Dumoulin suggested, is not necessarily a bad thing.
"It can benefit us," he said. "Just get us in that playoff mindset coming down the stretch. Tonight's no different."
MORE FROM THE SKATE
• Tristan Jarry will start in goal for the Penguins.
• Injured wingers Brock McGinn and Jason Zucker had an on-ice workout before the skate with skills coach Ty Hennes, while Casey DeSmith had a session with goalie coach Andy Chiodo at the same time. McGinn used both hands when handling the puck -- previously, he had used just one -- and Zucker was back out for the game-day skate, wearing a regular jersey instead of a no-contact one. "That's the last hurdle before a return to play, getting him in a game-real environment, getting full contact," Sullivan said. "So I think that's a significant step in the process."
• Sullivan acknowledged that there are risks in using top-six winger Bryan Rust to kill penalties, a role he has filled regularly since Zach Aston-Reese left the lineup because of illness earlier this month and subsequently was traded to Anaheim. "It is something we take into consideration, without a doubt," he said. "For example, we didn't use him on the 5-on-3 the other night against Detroit, and he's a really good 5-on-3 killer. ... Without a doubt, there is risk-reward with all of our players, depending on the situations that we put them in."
• Kasperi Kapanen and Jeff Carter have shown some chemistry during their brief time as linemates, which Sullivan said likely reflects their relationship outside of games. "I think one of the reasons they've found a little bit of chemistry on the ice is because they have it off the ice," he said. "(Carter) is just a great leader in that regard. He's a good mentor. He's a positive guy."
• Personnel combinations:
Guentzel-Crosby-Rodrigues
Rakell-Malkin-Rust
Heinen-Carter-Kapanen
Boyle-Blueger-Zohorna
Dumoulin-Letang
Matheson-Marino
Pettersson-Ruhwedel
Power play No. 1: Crosby, Malkin, Letang, Guentzel, Rust
Power play No. 2: Carter, Matheson, Kapanen, Heinen, Rakell
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