Penguins Game 1, Sullivan & NY Rangers: Lines, Notes, & How to Watch

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Penguins Game 1, Sullivan & NY Rangers: Lines, Notes, & How to Watch

Dan Kingerski · Pittsburgh Hockey Now

Tue, Oct 7, 2025 ·

2 min read

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NEW YORK —It begins. The 82-game fight for a ticket to the Stanley Cup playoffs commences Tuesday when the Pittsburgh Penguins (0-0-0) visit the New York Rangers (0-0-0) at Madison Square Garden.

The puck drop is a dreaded 8 p.m. start on national TV.

The game will be a matchup of coaches facing their former team. New York coach Mike Sullivan coached the Penguins for nearly a decade before rebuilding concerns and a fading performance cost him his job. New Penguins coach Dan Muse spent the last two seasons as a New York assistant under departed coach Peter Laviolette.

Sullivan, 57, coached 753 games with the Penguins, amassing a record of 409-255-89, and two Stanley Cup championships (2016, 2017).

Muse, 43, is making his NHL head coaching debut.

The Penguins finished their preseason with a 5-1-1 record, running the table after being winless in the first two games. Rookies made a splash in the games that didn't count, and 2025 first-round pick Ben Kindel made the opening night roster. Kindel will make his NHL debut Tuesday, per Muse.

2024 second-round pick Harrison Brunicke will also make his NHL debut after a standout preseason. The fleet-footed young defenseman will take the third pairing right side.

The Penguins will also have another rookie, Ville Koivunen , playing beside Sidney Crosby on the Penguins' top line. Koivunen has seven career NHL points in eight games, but is still hoping to score his first goal.

Referees waived off his lone goal last season after they ruled he had knocked the puck over the line with his hand.

The Rangers are getting used to Sullivan, who is preaching a familiar refrain–"Be hard to play against."

Our colleague Jim Cerny hit the highs and lows with predictions of the coming Rangers season .

J.T. Miller is the new Rangers captain, but the team will go only as far as goalie Igor Shesterkin takes them.