Penguins Team Report

INSIDE SHOTS

Forward Mike Rupp has adjusted well to life in Pittsburgh after several seasons trapping with the Devils. His hat trick Monday night against the Rangers gives Rupp eight goals this season, already a career best.

He scored only six goals, total, the previous two seasons with New Jersey.

“With my role and what I need to do … my goal is to come here and play a certain way, and I don’t set offensive goals whatsoever,” Rupp said.

Center Jordan Staal(notes) said he had “no idea” how good Rupp was when the Penguins signed him to a two-year deal last summer.

“I do now,” Staal said. “Rupper is really good.”

He is also versatile, proving adept on a scoring line at wing or at pivot on a checking line. Coach Dan Bylsma favors players who can move up and down the lineup, and Rupp has proved a perfect fit.

Penguins 5, Rangers 2:   It’s difficult to upstage center Sidney Crosby(notes), but forward Mike Rupp did it in a win Monday at New York. Rupp’s first career hat trick was the highlight, but Crosby held his own.

Crosby scored twice and added an assist as the Penguins swept a home-and-home against the Rangers, outscoring them 13-5.

Still, not all is well for the Penguins. They went 0-for-5 on the power play to allow New York to stay in the game. Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury(notes) stopped 29 shots to keep the Rangers at bay.

NOTES, QUOTES

• C Sidney Crosby posted five goals and eight points in back-to-back games against the Rangers on Saturday and Monday. The Penguins won both. Crosby has scored eight goals to go with 16 points in his past 10 games.

• Before a 5-2 victory Monday night, the Penguins had not won at Madison Square Garden since March 1, 2007, a span of eight games. “They’re a tough team to play here, and we talk about that,” D Brooks Orpik(notes) said. “They get that first goal and the building comes alive, and they feed off that energy.” New York scored first Monday, but the Penguins responded 11 seconds later with C Sidney Crosby’s goal.

Quote To Note:   “It was his night.”—C Jordan Staal on C/RW Mike Rupp’s hat trick Monday at New York.

ROSTER REPORT

Defensemen:   Sergei Gonchar(notes), Brooks Orpik, Mark Eaton(notes), Kris Letang(notes), Jay McKee(notes), Martin Skoula(notes).

First Line:   Max Talbot(notes), Sidney Crosby, Bill Guerin(notes).

Second Line:   Ruslan Fedotenko(notes), Evgeni Malkin(notes), Pascal Dupuis(notes).

Third Line:   Mike Rupp, Jordan Staal, Tyler Kennedy(notes).

Fourth Line:   Eric Godard(notes), Craig Adams(notes), Chris Bourque(notes).

Player Notes:  

• D Jay McKee played for the first time in six games on Monday, returning from an infected finger on his right hand. However, the Penguins still have not played with their six regular defensemen since Oct. 20. D Alex Goligoski(notes) missed Monday’s game with a lower-body injury, a relapse after playing Saturday for the first time in six games.

• C Sidney Crosby was named the NHL’s No. 1 Star. He paced all scorers with eight points, including five goals, and notched his fourth career hat trick Saturday night. Crosby’s 17 goals in 28 games are a career-best start.

Medical Watch:  

• LW Chris Kunitz(notes) (lower-body injury) has missed eight straight games dating to Nov. 12. He is expected to miss another week.

• D Alex Goligoski (lower-body injury) is day-to-day. Goligoski missed Monday’s game, a relapse after playing Saturday for the first time in six games.