Everything You Need to Know for the Penguins' Season Opener vs. Rangers

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.

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.

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.