Here in the biggest sports market in the world, this hockey game that's being played here tonight is being filled as a very big hockey game.

So you don't think I'm alone in this stuff.

Good morning, too. You could. Friday morning from New York think I'm alone in this stuff. Good morning, so you could.

Friday morning from New York.

I'm Dan Kovachovich of D.K. Pittsburgh Sports, and this is Daily Shot of Penguins.

It comes your way bright and early every weekday.

If you're into football and or baseball, I also offer daily shots of Steelers and Pirates

in the same place that you found this.

Penguins versus Rangers tonight here at the Garden.

It's a 708 p.m. faceoff.

The Rangers, after a really bizarre lull that had everybody up here freaking out and panicking

and a couple of cases, Chris Drury pushing the button to further that panic.

They're now 6.3 and 1 in their last 10. They've got guys like Chris Kreider playing like a 50-gold

guy again. And they've got people here at least a little bit excited about where they are.

Now, the catch to that is, where they are is the same place where the

penguins are, which is stuck in that quirky 10-team pack in the east that's separated by a grand

total of nine points. I'm going to repeat that. Ten teams separated by nine points.

The Penguins specifically have 27 games left.

That's a lot of the schedule.

We haven't hit what anyone anywhere could realistically describe as some stretch run. It's just not that. It's early February. A third of the season is left. And a lot of that, like the game tonight, like the one I'll be covering tomorrow as well in Philadelphia, are inside the division. So the points are there, the possibilities are there,

and at least ever since Salt Lake City,

the push very much has been there.

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