Pluses, minuses for Penguins, Rangers

Each Wednesday throughout the regular season, Kevin Weekes will be offering his pluses and minuses for the teams competing in the NBCSN Wednesday Night Rivalry game in his Weekes on the Web blog. Weekes also will assist fans with three must-watch elements of the game.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are clicking at the right time. Following a tough start to the season, they've won four of their past five games to move within a point of the first-place Washington Capitals in the Metropolitan Division.
The New York Rangers traded some of their veterans and are in danger of missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in eight seasons.
Still, it's always a good game when the two rivals face off and it should be no different when the Penguins (40-26-4) visit the Rangers (31-32-7) at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV). Here's my breakdown of the game:

Penguins

Pluses: Evgeni Malkin is a Hart Trophy candidate. He usually steps up when Sidney Crosby is out of the lineup, but they've both been great this season. Malkin has 87 points (39 goals, 48 assists), four behind Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov for the NHL lead. Malkin also has 25 goals in 30 games, the most in the League since Jan. 1. Crosby has 76 points (23 goals, 53 assists) and is picking up where he left off the past two seasons when he won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP.
Phil Kessel has been underrated for a few seasons, which comes with the territory of playing with Malkin and Crosby, but we can't forget his contributions. He has 78 points (28 goals, 50 assists), eighth in the League, and he's four points from a new NHL career high set with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2011-12.
Defenseman Kris Letang is rounding into form. He missed half of the 2016-17 season and the entire playoffs because of a neck injury and started off slow this season. However, Letang has 41 points (six goals, 35 assists) in 67 games and has been a big presence on the power play as well as defensively.
The Penguins have been getting contributions up and down the lineup. Whether it's been Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust, Olli Maatta or Conor Sheary, someone different always seems to step up during the rare times the big three are shutdown.

Minuses:First and foremost, goalie Matt Murray needs to stay healthy. Murray, who has been out with a concussion since Feb. 24, also missed time twice this season because of other injuries. He's 23, and although he's made a name for himself in the playoffs, he has struggled this season (23-13-2, 2.82 goals-against average, .909 save percentage). Still, the Penguins are much better team when he is in net as opposed to rookies Tristan Jarry and Carey DeSmith.
The lack of defensive depth has hurt. Since the offseason, the Penguins have lost Trevor Daley and Ron Hainsey to free agency and Ian Cole via trade. Besides Letang (30), one other defenseman is at least 30; Matt Hunwick is 32.
The Penguins have been dominant at home (26-8-1). However, they are under .500 on the road (14-18-3), including 4-5-1 in their past 10 games. This will be a good test for them in a hostile environment and can prepare them for what it will be like away from home in the playoffs.

Rangers

Pluses:Since Rangers management decided to look toward the future and traded veterans Rick Nash, Ryan McDonagh and J.T. Miller prior to the NHL Trade Deadline, they have played better hockey. They've gone 4-2-1, including sweeping a Western Canada road trip against the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers. Some of the young forwards and defensemen are getting playing time at the NHL level, which has been good for their development.
Ryan Spooner, who was traded to New York by the Boston Bruins for Nash on Feb. 25, has 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) in eight games, including five multipoint games. The Rangers got a good one in Spooner, who can play all three forward positions and can be used in most situations. He could be a restricted free agent on July 1 and New York would be wise to lock him up. Vladislav Namestnikov, traded to New York for McDonagh and Miller on Feb. 26, has three points (two goals, assist) in seven games. His hands and speed are something that will help the Rangers.
Lastly, goalie Alexandar Georgiev will start for the Rangers. He made 41 saves in a 6-3 win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday and is 2-2-0 with a 2.73 GAA and .930 save percentage. He was on a tear before being recalled from Hartford of the American Hockey League and with the Rangers out of the playoff picture, it's a good time to see if the 22-year-old is their goalie of the future when Henrik Lundqvist (36) retires.

Minuses:The Rangers haven't missed the playoffs since 2009-10, when they were eliminated by a shootout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on the final day of the regular season. Prior to that, they made it the past four seasons. It will be a stretch to make it this season. They're nine points behind the New Jersey Devils for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference, have played one more game and would have to pass several teams. There is too much ground to make up.
Their inconsistency cost them this year. Starting the season 1-5-2, then going on a stretch with 10 wins in 12 games was followed up with three wins in 13 games and later a seven-game losing streak (0-6-1). They just never seemed to get on a roll or end a losing streak quick enough.
Another minus has been the defense. True, McDonagh was injured and Kevin Shattenkirk remains sidelined with a knee injury, but the Rangers often didn't play clean enough in front of Lundqvist. The Rangers are 25th in goals-against average (3.13), something they're not known for.

THREE THINGS TO WATCH

1. How do to the Rangers' young players react to a big test against the Penguins?
   2. Will the Penguins show up for this game against an underachieving Rangers team?
   3. Does Spooner continue his offensive surge?