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Everything You Need to Know for the Penguins' Season Opener vs. Rangers
Photo credit: Madison Square Garden
The Penguins and Rangers square off in their season opener tonight at Madison Square Garden, and projected lineups for both teams are available.
Welcome to the 2025-26 season. The Penguins begin their season tonight with a reunion against former head coach Mike Sullivan and the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Faceoff is 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN, SN1, TVAS, and ESPN+.
The Penguins will then head to PPG Paints Arena on Thursday for their home opener versus top 2025 selection Matthew Schaefer and the New York Islanders prior to hosting the Rangers again on Saturday. They'll then embark on a West Coast trip to Anaheim, Los Angeles, and San Jose.
The Rangers hope to bounce back from a disappointing 2024-25 season after an Eastern Conference Finals berth the previous year. A healthy bounce-back from goalie Igor Shesterkin will be important if they are to get back to playoff contention.
NEW YORK RANGERS PROJECTED LINES
FORWARDS
Will Cuylle - JT Miller - Mika Zibanejad
Artemi Panarin - Vincent Trocheck - Alexis Lafreniére
Conor Sheary - Noah Laba - Taylor Raddysh
Adam Edstrom - Sam Carrick - Matt Rempe
DEFENSEMEN
Vladislav Gavrikov - Adam Fox
Carson Soucy - Will Borgen
Urho Vaakanainen - Braden Schneider
GOALIES
Igor Shesterkin, Jonathan Quick
FORWARDS
Will Cuylle - JT Miller - Mika Zibanejad
Artemi Panarin - Vincent Trocheck - Alexis Lafreniére
Conor Sheary - Noah Laba - Taylor Raddysh
Adam Edstrom - Sam Carrick - Matt Rempe
DEFENSEMEN
Vladislav Gavrikov - Adam Fox
Carson Soucy - Will Borgen
Urho Vaakanainen - Braden Schneider
GOALIES
Igor Shesterkin, Jonathan Quick
The Penguins Struggled vs. the Rangers Last Season
The Penguins were 1-3 against the New Yorkers last year and were outscored 17-8 in the four-game season series.
It's a night of history for the Penguins tonight, as teenagers Harrison Brunicke and Ben Kindel become the latest teens to play in their NHL debuts.
It's the first time since 2006, when Kris Letang and Jordan Staal made their debuts, that two Penguins teens play in the same game.
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS PROJECTED LINES
FORWARDS
Rickard Rakell - Sidney Crosby - Ville Koivunen
Anthony Mantha - Evgeni Malkin - Justin Brazeau
Tommy Novak - Ben Kindel - Philip Tomasino
Connor Dewar - Blake Lizotte - Noel Acciari
DEFENSEMEN
Parker Wotherspoon / Erik Karlsson
Ryan Shea / Kris Letang
Caleb Jones / Harrison Brunicke
GOALIES
Tristan Jarry, Arturs Silos
FORWARDS
Rickard Rakell - Sidney Crosby - Ville Koivunen
Anthony Mantha - Evgeni Malkin - Justin Brazeau
Tommy Novak - Ben Kindel - Philip Tomasino
Connor Dewar - Blake Lizotte - Noel Acciari
DEFENSEMEN
Parker Wotherspoon / Erik Karlsson
Ryan Shea / Kris Letang
Caleb Jones / Harrison Brunicke
GOALIES
Tristan Jarry, Arturs Silos
To put that in perspective, Sidney Crosby had already won both the Art Ross and Hart Trophies by the time Kindel was born in 2007.
The Rangers have retooled their roster since these teams last played in February. JT Miller is now the captain, replacing Jacob Trouba, and new additions Vladislav Gavrikov, Taylor Raddysh, and Conor Sheary have been added to the fold.
Sullivan implements his structured, read-and-react system in New York, prioritizing energy conservation and offense readiness.
For fans keeping track at home, Kindel will don No. 81 and Brunicke No. 45. New season, new players, old storylines, and lots of anticipation regarding what's next.
| POLL | ||
OCTOBRE 7 | 47 ANSWERS Everything You Need to Know for the Penguins' Season Opener vs. Rangers Who will win tonight's season opener? | ||
| Penguins | 43 | 91.5 % |
| Rangers | 4 | 8.5 % |
| List of polls | ||