New York Rangers v Pittsburgh Penguins Live

Without any doubts, Rangers fans are eagerly awaiting the start of the 2009-10 season to see what their completely overhauled roster will be capable of. Unfortunately, their opponent in the first game this autumn will be the defending champions from Pennsylvania. Thus, the Rangers will travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins at Mellon Arena on Friday at 0:30 a.m. GMT.

After clinching their first Stanley Cup since the era of Mario Lemieux and Kevin Stevens, the Pittsburg Penguins had a mellow off-season without having to make any significant moves. Most importantly, the franchise around Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin signed a few new role players to one-year contracts as well as re-signing Bill Guerin and Alex Goligoski. However, the Penguins also lost their veteran right-wing Petr Sykora who signed a one-year deal in Minnesota. It is also worth noting that veteran defenders Rob Scuderi and Hal Gill will not be with the team in 2009-10 either.

Unlike the Penguins, the New York Rangers decided to blow-up large parts of their roster and take a different approach this year. In fact, there will be no less than 19 new faces plus seven rookies in New York while 12 former Rangers’ players either had to walk or were traded. There is very little doubt that the most important acquisition was the signing of Marian Gaborik to a five-year deal worth $37.5 million. During his eight years in the league, the two-time All-Star from Slovakia scored 219 goals and dished out 218 assists for a total of 437 career points in 502 games. However, the franchise also lost the scoring of Scott Gomez and Nik Antropov which might turn the signing of Marian Gaborik into a lateral move. Other notable pick-ups on the free agency market included veteran defender Donald Brashear, left wing Vaclav Prospal and right wing Ales Kotalik.

Even though it is fairly difficult to accurately predict a team which underwent such major changes as the Rangers, the game could turn out to be much closer than it looks on paper. On one hand, the Penguins can be expected to continue running their dynamic offense featuring All-Star Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby. On the other hand, the Rangers’ are primarily known for their focus on defense which could allow them to stay in the game if they can shut down Crosby and Malkin. Likewise, the Penguins have not performed convincingly during the preseason where they dropped four straight games.

You can watch all games of the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins right here on www.watchlivenhl.com, the home of NHL live streaming.

Posted: 29th January 2009

On Thursday January 29, 2009 at 00:30 GMT watch NHL Live Stream as the New York Rangers travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins. This game will feature two old time Eastern Conference rivals.

The New York Rangers will come out of the All Star break with a 28-16-4 record for 60 points; just one point behind the New Jersey Devils in the Atlantic Division. This NHL Live Streams game will feature a Rangers team that has a 13-8-2 road record and have went 6-3-1 in their last ten games.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have struggled this season, especially without star Sidney Crosby, but he looks to return soon, if not for this game. The Penguins are 23-21-4 for 50 points; 11 points out of first place in the Atlantic Division. Pittsburgh sits in fourth place, and tenth overall; but just a point behind Carolina for the final spot. NHL Live Streaming will present the Penguins who are .500 when playing at home this season.