Pittsburgh @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 17, 2019 ) NY Rangers 5, Pittsburgh 6

The Pittsburgh Penguins have begun a full-out sprint toward punching their ticket for their 13th consecutive postseason appearance. The Penguins look to take a few steps closer toward that goal on Monday when they conclude a four-game road trip against the New York Rangers.

Jake Guentzel scored on the power play in the first period of Saturday's 3-2 victory versus Dallas, boosting his team-leading goal total to 38 - with 10 coming in the last 14 games. The 24-year-old's high-octane offense has helped Pittsburgh cobble together a 9-2-3 mark in that stretch to find itself within three points of first-place Washington. The Rangers reside much further down the standings and had lost five in a row and 11 of 12 (1-6-5) before posting a 2-1 overtime win in Toronto on Saturday. Ontario native Ryan Strome netted his first career overtime goal when he scored 1:48 into the extra session, lifting his point total to 15 (eight goals, seven assists) in his past 20 games.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, MSG (New York)

ABOUT THE PENGUINS (41-24-11): Jared McCann has adjusted quite nicely to the Steel City since being acquired from Florida, scoring twice on Saturday to lift his goal total to 11 in 26 games with the Pittsburgh after netting just eight in 46 contests with the Panthers. "That's a goal-scorer's goal. He can score. No matter where we put him, he can score," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan told reporters of the 22-year-old McCann's short-handed tally in which he spun around Stars forward Tyler Seguin before backhanding the puck into the net. The offense proved to be just enough for Matt Murray, who has yielded just seven goals in his last four contests (2-0-2) and owns a 5-0-0 mark with a 2.36 goals-against average and .914 save percentage in five career meetings with the Rangers.

ABOUT THE RANGERS (29-32-13): Pavel Buchnevich scored 19 seconds into the third period on Saturday to set a career high in goals (18) while boosting his point total to 16 (nine goals, seven assists) in the last 22 games. The 23-year-old, who joined Strome by scoring in New York's 7-2 setback against Pittsburgh on Jan. 2, is one of four Russian players who have registered 40 or more goals in franchise history (Alexei Kovalev, Sergei Nemchinov, Artem Anisimov). The 25-year-old Strome also tallied in the Rangers' 6-5 loss in Pittsburgh on Feb. 17, with Mika Zibanejad collecting a goal and an assist in that contest.

OVERTIME

1. Pittsburgh captain C Sidney Crosby has just one assist in his last five games heading into Monday's tilt versus New York, against which he scored one goal and set up four others in two meetings this season.

2. Rangers LW Jimmy Vesey has been held off the scoresheet in 11 consecutive contests.

3. Pittsburgh RW Phil Kessel, who set up two goals on Saturday, had two assists in last month's meeting with New York.

PREDICTION: Penguins 5, Rangers 2