Preview: Penguins at Rangers

PENGUINS (50-21-11) at RANGERS (47-28-6)
7 p.m. ET; MSG, ROOT, NHL.TV

Penguins team scope

The Pittsburgh Penguins are assured of finishing in second place in the Metropolitan Division and will open the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Eastern Conference First Round. The Penguins are coming off a 5-3 loss at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. They did not have a morning skate. Center Sidney Crosby will not play, and center Evgeni Malkin will miss his 13th straight game with a lower-body injury. He is expected to be back for Game 1 against Columbus. Defenseman Olli Maatta, who has missed 25 straight games with a hand injury, will play. ". I think it's good for him to have the opportunity to get a game under his belt," coach Mike Sullivan said. Rookie goalie Tristan Jarry will make his first NHL start. The Penguins called up defenseman Derrick Pouliot and forwards Oskar Sundqvist and Jean-Sebastien Dea from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League on Sunday. Sullivan rested forwards Nick Bonino, Patric Hornqvist and Bryan Rust as well as defenseman Brian Dumoulin and goalie Matt Murray against the Maple Leafs.

Rangers team scope

The New York Rangers are locked into being the first wild card from the Eastern Conference and will play the Montreal Canadiens in the first round. Magnus Hellberg will start in goal against Pittsburgh with Henrik Lundqvist as his backup. Antti Raanta was scheduled to start after Lundqvist played in a 3-1 loss at the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, but coach Alain Vigneaut said Raanta was scratched and is day to day after taking a puck off his knee at practice on Friday. Defenseman Ryan McDonagh returns after missing four games with an undisclosed injury. Forwards Rick, Nash, Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan, will play, as will defensemen Marc Staal and Nick Holden; all were healthy scratches on Saturday.

Penguins projected lineup

Jake Guentzel -- Oskar Sundqvist -- Conor Sheary
Bryan Rust -- Nick Bonino -- Jean-Sebastien Dea
Tom Kuhnhackl -- Matt Cullen -- Phil Kessel
Scott Wilson -- Carter Rowney -- Josh Archibald
Brian Dumoulin -- Ron Hainsey
Ian Cole -- Derrick Pouliot
Olli Maatta -- Chad Ruhwedel
Tristan Jarry
Marc-Andre Fleury
Scratched:Sidney Crosby, Cameron Gaunce, Mark Streit, Dominik Simon, Justin Schultz, Patric Hornqvist, Trevor Daley
Injured: Evgeni Malkin (upper body), Chris Kunitz (lower body), Carl Hagelin (lower body), Kris Letang (neck)

Rangers projected lineup

Michael Grabner -- Derek Stepan -- Mats Zuccarello
Jimmy Vesey -- Mika Zibanejad -- Rick Nash
J.T. Miller -- Brandon Pirri -- Taylor Beck
Tanner Glass -- Oscar Lindberg -- Pavel Buchnevich
Ryan McDonagh -- Dan Girardi
Marc Staal -- Nick Holden
Brady Skjei -- Kevin Klein
Marcus Hellberg
Henrik Lundqvist
Scratched:Steven Kampfer, Matt Puempel, Adam Clendening, Chris Kreider, Brendan Smith, Jesper Fast, Kevin Hayes
Injured;Antti Raanta (knee)

Status report

The Rangers recalled Hellberg from Hartford of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis Sunday.

Who's hot

Crosby has seven points (two goals, five assists) in his past five games and 22 points (10 points, 12 assists) in his past 19. Guentzel has a five-game goal-scoring streak and has 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in his past 10 games. … Zibanejad has seven points (three goals, four assists) in his past eight games. Stepan has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past six games.