NEW LOOK: At Wollman Rink, Ryan Callahan, Dan Girardi, Henrik Lundqvist and Brandon Dubinsky show off the new jerseys the Rangers will wear at this season’s NHL Winter Classic on Jan. 2 in Philadelphia. (Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post)
The universal opinion inside the Rangers’ locker room is that Sidney Crosby’s successful return to the ice is a good thing.
But that doesn’t mean that they’re going to treat him any differently tonight when the Penguins come to the Garden for the season’s first meeting between the division rivals.
“He’s an important guy to the game, he’s a very good ambassador to the game,” Rangers coach John Tortorella said. “But then it ends there.
“We’re gonna play him straight up.”
Crosby hasn’t slowed down since his spectacular season debut against the Islanders on Nov. 21, when he scored two goals and picked up two assists. In four games since his return to the ice following a lengthy battle with post-concussion symptoms that kept him out since January, forcing him to miss 61 games across two seasons, he already has racked up nine points, and was named the NHL’s first star last week.
In Pittsburgh’s last two games, wins against the Senators on Friday and against the Canadiens on Saturday, Crosby finished with a combined five assists.
“He’s obviously one of the best in the game, if not the best,” said defenseman Ryan McDonagh who, along with Dan Girardi, likely will spend the majority of tonight’s game trying to keep Crosby under wraps. “The only thing we can do is try and take away his time and space, try to knock him off the puck, and keep him away from the puck.
“That starts with our fore-check. We used it in Philly’s zone a lot last game, and I think it helped take away from their offense a little bit. We need to continue to do that, and keep our fore-check going.”
In addition to the excitement surrounding Crosby’s return to the Garden, the game also is an important one in the standings for the Rangers. Pittsburgh holds a five-point advantage over the Rangers in the Atlantic Division, but the Penguins have played four more games than them this season.
“It’s definitely a division rival, so you want to get ready for that as best as you can,” Marian Gaborik said. “Everybody is looking forward to this game because it’s always a rivalry. They have a lot of talent up front, and everyone’s got to be ready when they’re on the ice.”
After a pair of poor performances in Montreal and Florida, the Rangers bounced back in impressive fashion with an emphatic pair of victories in Washington against the Capitals on Friday and against the Flyers on Saturday.
Now the Rangers get another chance to test themselves against the team sitting atop the Eastern Conference standings and with the league’s best player in prime form.
“Well, we’re playing one of the best teams in the league right now,” said Henrik Lundqvist. “They’re confident and a strong team. We just have to approach it the same way we did the other night against Philly. We’re playing a really good team, we have to be smart with the puck and we have to be really tough on their top guys.
“We can’t give them too much room or too much space or time, but as long as we go out there with the attitude we had the other night, I think we’ll be in good shape.”