PITTSBURGH PENGUINS at NEW YORK RANGERS

Tuesday, November 29, 2011, Madison Square Garden, 7:30 p.m.

BY THE NUMBERS 3,843,622: Total attendance during the Penguins active 221 game consecutive sellout streak (includes regular season and playoffs), which started Feb. 14, 2007 vs. Chicago. That averages out to 17,392 fans per game. 66: Number of days between Sidney Crosbys first practice with the Penguins on Sept. 17 (first day of training camp) and his return to game action vs. NY Islanders Nov. 21. Crosby tallied four points (2G-2A), had eight shots and went 14-7 (66.7%) on draws that night. 15: Number of blocked shots for defenseman Zbynek Michalek over his last three games. Michalek blocked six shots against St. Louis Nov. 23; five shots Nov. 25 vs. Ottawa; and four shots at Montreal Nov. 26. 9-1-3: Pittsburghs record this season when it scores the opening goal. When the Penguins do not score the opening goal they are 5-5-3. 8: League-leading number of overtime games played this season for the Penguins. Pittsburghs overtime record is 4-4. They have played five overtime games on the road, going 3-2. 6: Points for forward Tyler Kennedy (2G-4A) in seven games since returning from a concussion on Nov. 15. Kennedy notched his first multiple-point game (1G-2A) of the season vs. Ottawa Nov. 26. 3-4-1: Pittsburghs record this season when they trail after two periods following Saturday nights 4-3 comefrom-behind win at Montreal. Last year the Penguins were the only NHL team that failed to win a game when trailing after 40 minutes.
Pittsburghs defensive corps has benefited offensively from Sidney Crosbys return to the lineup on Nov. 21. In the first 20 games of the season prior to Crosbys return, Pittsburghs blueliners combined for 36 points (6G-30A), an average of 1.8 points per game. Since then, they have accumulated 11 points (2G-9A) in four games for an average of 2.75 points per game. Below is an individual comparison of each defensemans numbers before and after Crosbys return:
PRIOR TO Nov. 21 Name Kris Letang Matt Niskanen Deryk Engelland Paul Martin Zbynek Michalek Brooks Orpik Ben Lovejoy *TOTALS GP 18 19 20 20 10 12 13 20 G 2 1 1 0 1 1 0 6 A 14 4 3 4 2 2 1 30 PTS 16 5 4 4 3 3 1 36 PPG .89 .26 .20 .20 .30 .25 .08 1.8

*Includes eight games played from Alexandre Picard (6 games), Brian Strait (1 game) and Robert Bortuzzo (1game). SINCE Nov. 21 Name Kris Letang Paul Martin Deryk Engelland Brooks Orpik Zbynek Michalek Matt Niskanen TOTALS

GP 4 4 4 4 4 4 4

G 1 0 0 1 0 0 2

A 2 3 3 0 1 0 9

PTS 3 3 3 1 1 0 11

PPG .75 .75 .75 .25 .25 .00 2.75

Pittsburgh is in the midst of its 10th stretch of four or more consecutive road games since Dan Bylsma took over as head coach on Feb.15, 2009. Pittsburgh has gone .500 or better in six of its first nine road stretches of four or more games. Those numbers include a perfect 5-0 mark in the first such stretch from Feb. 27-March 8, 2009. Pittsburgh also had a perfect 4-0 road trip Oct. 8-14, 2009. The Penguins have managed to go .500 or better in four of their last five trips of four or more games, a fact highlighted in the graph below (Current trip in bold):
Dates Nov. 26-Dec. 3, 2011 Feb. 25-March 5, 2011 Feb. 11-20, 2011 Oct. 30-Nov. 6, 2010 March 11-18, 2010 Jan. 11-16, 2010 # of Games 4 5 4 4 5 4 Record 1-0-0 2-1-2 1-2-1 2-2 2-2-1 2-2

James Neal, Pittsburghs leading scorer with 23 points, enters tonight ranked third (tied) in the NHL with 13 goals. He has proven to be a clutch performer, as eight of his 13 goals have come in the third period. Of those eight third-period goals, four have either been game-winners or have tied the game with the Penguins trailing including a marker late in the third period against St. Louis on Wednesday that evened the game at 2-2 and allowed Pittsburgh to steal a point. Below are the four instances when Neal has either scored the go-ahead or game-tying goal in the final period:
Date/Opponent Oct. 13 vs. WSH Oct. 27 vs. NYI Nov. 11 vs. DAL Nov. 23 vs. STL Score & Time of Neals Goal 2-2 16:15 of the 3rd period 2-2 4:15 of the 3rd period 2-1 7:19 of the 3rd period 2-2 14:09 of the 3rd period Final Score 3-2, OTL 3-2, SOW 3-1, W 3-2, OTL