The New York Rangers hope to take their first step toward their fifth Stanley Cup in franchise history when they visit the Pittsburgh Penguins in the season opener for both teams on Wednesday.
The Rangers finished with the most points in the NHL last season (114) under first-year coach Peter Laviolette and won their first seven playoff games before their season ultimately ended in a six-game loss to the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference finals.
The Panthers went on to win the Stanley Cup while the Rangers went their 29th straight season without a championship.
“You’re in a forward march for 200 days and then the season ends and everything’s just cut off,” Laviolette said.
New York returns most of its core lineup this season, though defenseman Ryan Lindgren (upper body) and forward Jimmy Vesey (lower body) are expected to be sidelined for a few more weeks.
“I always think there’s an excitement,” Laviolette said of the new season. “The end of last year is so far rearview mirror stuff and the windshield now is just looking at this brand new season. It’s a chance to make your mark and go out and do great things. It starts with Game 1 in Pittsburgh.”
With Lindgren sidelined, New York rookie Victor Mancini has a shot to be in the lineup against Pittsburgh. The 22-year-old defenseman produced two goals and an assist in the preseason.
“Everybody’s still in play to be in the lineup that’s here right now, and so we’ve looked at things in practice and, yeah, he’s a possibility,” Laviolette said.
The Penguins are looking to get back into the postseason after missing out in each of the past two seasons.
Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan won Stanley Cup titles in his first two seasons with the Penguins in 2015-16 and 2016-17, and those expectations remain.
“Are we disappointed? For sure,” Sullivan said. “When you look at the makeup of the group — the players and the coaching staff alike — I think they’re pretty competitive guys, and they have pretty high expectations of themselves as individuals, and I’m in that category. When we don’t have success, the first place that I look is in the mirror and what I can do to help this group get over the hump and enjoy that success.”
The Penguins will look to 37-year-old center Sidney Crosby to try to put together another phenomenal season. He scored 42 goals last season, his highest total since he led the NHL with 44 goals in 2016-17.
Crosby said Sullivan remains consistent in his evaluations of players and performances, as well as bringing new ideas to the game plan.
“Stuff that’s going to help our game or stuff that we can evolve with,” Crosby said. “That’s important too. The game is changing. You have to be able to adapt and change with it, and I think he’s done a really good job of that. I’m sure there’s a lot of different reasons as to why he continues to be able to deliver that message, but that’s probably a few of them.”
Entering his 20th season with Pittsburgh, Crosby still loves being part of a team.
“There are so many different personalities and everybody comes from different places,” he said. “To me, that’s the cool part about playing the game is you get everybody together, get everybody on the same page and you find a way to have success.”
