Welcome to the 2025-26 season! Here’s everything you need to know ahead of tonight’s reunion with Mike Sullivan at Madison Square Garden.
Who: Pittsburgh Penguins (0-0-0) @ New York Rangers (0-0-0)
How to Watch: National broadcast on ESPN, local on SN1 and TVAS
Pens’ Path Ahead: The Penguins are back at PPG Paints Arena for the 2025-26 home opener on Thursday against top 2025 pick Matthew Schaefer and the New York Islanders, two days before the Rangers visit for a rematch. Then it’s back on the road for an early-season West Coast swing that will take the Pens to Anaheim, Los Angeles and San Jose.
Opponent Track: After a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals in 2024, the Rangers took a huge step back last season and finished with 16 fewer wins. A bounce-back campaign from Igor Shesterkin will be key to getting the Rangers back into the playoff conversation.
Season Series: The Pens went 1-3 and were outscored by a total of 17-8 in four games against the Rangers last year.
Hidden Stat: For the third time in Penguins history, two teenagers are set to make their NHL debuts in the same game as Harrison Brunicke and Ben Kindel make it on the opening night roster. The last time this happened was when Kris Letang and Jordan Staal skated together in 2006.
Hidden Stat II: Ready to feel old? Sidney Crosby had scored 222 points in 160 regular-season games and claimed his first Art Ross and Hart Trophies by then time Kindel was born in 2007, per Penguins PR.
Hidden Stat, Rangers Version: The Rangers have an all-time record of 41-39-15-3 in home openers.
Getting to know the Rangers
Projected lines (from Monday’s practice)
Will Cuylle – JT Miller – Mika Zibanejad
Artemi Panarin – Vincent Trocheck – Alexis Lafreniére
Conor Sheary – Noah Laba – Taylor Raddysh
Adam Edstrom – Sam Carrick – Matt Rempe
Vladislav Gavrikov – Adam Fox
Carson Soucy – Will Borgen
Urho Vaakanainen – Braden Schneider
Goalies: Igor Shesterkin, Jonathan Quick
Scratches: Matthew Robertson, Juuso Parssinen, Brett Berard
Since the Penguins last saw the Rangers in February this roster has undergone quite a few changes. JT Miller has been named captain, taking over for now-Ducks defenseman Jacob Trouba. Gone are K’Andre Miller and Chris Kreider; in are Vladislav Gavrikov, Taylor Raddysh and one notable old friend— former Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan, who will be making his New York debut tonight against the Pens.Vincent Trocheck recently gave NHL.com’s Dan Rosen some insight into how he saw Sullivan’s system: “It’s not a man-on-man system where you’re just chasing your guy the entire shift, which a lot of times whenever you are doing that it does take away energy for offense. Any time you do turn the puck over you might not have the legs to get to offense, whereas in this system it’s more reading and reacting. You’re in your area, basically.”The Rangers also added former Penguins forward Conor Sheary the day before the season-opener after hosting him on a PTO in training camp.
Projected lines (from Monday’s practice)
Rickard Rakell – Sidney Crosby – Ville Koivunen
Anthony Mantha – Evgeni Malkin – Justin Brazeau
Tommy Novak – Ben Kindel – Philip Tomasino
Connor Dewar – Blake Lizotte – Noel Acciari
Parker Wotherspoon / Erik Karlsson
Caleb Jones / Harrison Brunicke
Goalies: Tristan Jarry, Arturs Silos
Potential Scratches: Filip Hallander, Connor Clifton, Mathew Dumba
Injuries: Jack St. Ivany (week-to-week, lower body), Rutger McGroarty (indefinite, upper-body), Joel Blomqvist (week-to-week, lower body)
IR: Bryan Rust (week-to-week, lower body), Kevin Hayes (upper body, week-to-week)
There are 13 returnees on the opening night roster (Rakell, Crosby, Koivunen, Malkin, Novak, Tomasino, Dewar, Lizotte, Acciari, Karlsson, Shea, Letang and Jarry).There are also 10 new names (Brazeau, Hallander, Kindel, Mantha, Brunicke, Clifton, Dumba, Jones, Wotherspoon and Silovs).With Blomqvist injured, Jarry is a safe bet as an opening night starter.
The Penguins vets weighed in on the youngest members of the roster ahead of puck drop, per Penguins team reporter Michelle Crechiolo.
Sidney Crosby on Kindel: “I think he’s got a lot of poise with the puck, a lot of speed. Those two things probably stand out the most. I think he’s using his speed well. He’s finding guys, he distributes the puck really well, and he seems like he’s confident. It doesn’t seem like it’s been too fast for him or anything like that. To this point, he’s done a great job. So, sometimes it takes time to adjust all that. It seems like with every game, he’s getting more and more comfortable.”
Kris Letang on Brunicke: “He’s got tons of confidence with the puck. He has a pretty good set of skills, whether it’s skating, puck handling. Obviously, his confidence makes him really dangerous. He can hold onto pucks and use his patience. So, it’s going to be exciting to see what he can do at this level.”
Kindel will be wearing No. 81, while Brunicke will be wearing No. 45 for those looking to keep an eye out for the youngest Pens.