As it stands, the Penguins are in fourth-to-last place in the Eastern Conference and carry a goal differential of minus-36. It's a Penguins season that is on pace to be the worst since Sidney Crosby's rookie year in 2005-06.

Amid a brutal stretch of play, the New York Rangers shook up their roster in December with a pair of major trades. The Rangers dealt their captain, defenseman Jacob Trouba, to the Anaheim Ducks on Dec. 6 for defenseman Urho Vaakanainen and a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.

Josh Yohe of The Athletic: Earlier in the season, the New York Rangers offered forward Mika Zibanejad to the Vancouver Canucks for forward J.T. Miller. The Canucks said no. The Rangers are interested in re-acquiring Miller. NHL Rumors: What Will it Take for the Montreal Canadiens Not to Sell?

The Pittsburgh Penguins are struggling right now. After narrowly missing out on the playoffs last year, they got off to a bit of a rough start and are mostly treading water.

On the day goaltender Tristan Jarry was jettisoned on waivers, with the Pittsburgh Penguins sitting in 14th place in the Eastern Conference and on track for their lowest full-season point total since Sidney Crosby’s rookie year,

Jones began the year as a third-pair defenseman with Braden Schneider, as he did last season, too. The Rangers have been using Will Borgen and Urho Vaakanainen over Jones, both of which were acquired in recent trades for Kaapo Kakko and Jacob Trouba, respectively.

Dave Pagnotta of the Fourth Period was on Sirius XM NHL Network Radio Power Play Segment with Steve Kouleas and Martin Biron and was asked if the Tristan Jarry waivers move by the Pittsburgh Penguins was a sign of things to come.

Who had a worse day? The New York Rangers, who let a late lead slip away in a 3-2 OT loss? Or Evegni Malkin, who returned from injury for a dismal Pittsburgh Penguins loss, amid reports his three Stanley Cup rings were stolen in a robbery.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have taken points from some of the NHL’s finest clubs this season. Although they have a modest total of 18 victories after 45 games, they’ve beaten division leaders like Toronto and Washington,