Now that the 2026 Olympic men’s hockey tournament is complete, those international superstars have returned to their NHL teams in time for the Stanley Cup playoff races to heat up.
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On Saturday, many of those hockey heroes will be on the ice for an exclusive doubleheader on ABC and in the ESPN app.
In the first matchup, the Pittsburgh Penguins — including Sweden’s Erik Karlsson and Rickard Rakell, but without the injured Sidney Crosby — face off against the New York Rangers, including USA forwards Vincent Trocheck and J.T. Miller, along with USA coach Mike Sullivan (and Swedish teammate Mika Zibanejad).
In the second game, the Boston Bruins — including the USA’s Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman, along with Czechia’s David Pastrnak among others — take on the Philadelphia Flyers, who will have Rasmus Ristolainen (Finland), Dan Vladar (Czechia) and Travis Sanheim (Canada).
To help get you ready for these two games, here’s a guide on the key players to watch for each team, including in-depth statistical insights from ESPN Research, along with broadcast information.
PittsburghPenguins at
New YorkRangers
Saturday, 12:30 p.m. ETMadison Square Garden
Penguins
Record: 30-15-12, 72 pointsPower Ranking: 7Leading scorer: Sidney Crosby (27 goals, 32 assists)
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Notes from ESPN Research
At the start of the regular season, DraftKings Sportsbook offered +600 odds on the Penguins to make the playoffs (14% implied probability). Entering Friday, those odds were -310 (75% implied probability).
Crosby has played in 369 of the Penguins’ past 378 games after beginning the 2021-22 season recovering from wrist surgery in September 2021. Only 29 players in the NHL played in more games than Crosby between his 2021-22 debut on Oct. 30, 2021, and Friday (he was 34 to 38 years old in that stretch). His 369 games played in that span are 24 more than any other Penguins player (Kris Letang is second with 345).
Evgeni Malkin has 46 points, which is second on the team behind Crosby’s 59. Malkin’s current 1.10 points-per-game pace would be his highest since 2019-20 (1.35).
Goaltender Stuart Skinner is 8-1-1 with a 2.30 goals-against average and .904 save percentage in his past 10 starts. Backup Arturs Silovs is 8-2-2, with a 2.39 GAA and .910 save percentage in his past 12 starts.
Rangers
Record: 22-29-7, 51 pointsPower Ranking: 30Leading scorer: Mika Zibanejad (23 goals, 29 assists)
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Notes from ESPN Research
The Rangers have struggled at MSG in 2025-26. They enter Saturday’s game 6-15-5 at home this season, the second-worst points percentage (.327) in the NHL ahead of only the Vancouver Canucks (.304, 6-17-5). The Rangers’ fewest home wins in a season of 80-plus games is 13 in 2003-04.
With the return of Igor Shesterkin and Adam Fox, the Rangers’ roster is the eighth youngest in the NHL (27.85 years old). However, the current top three scorers this season are 32 years old: Zibanejad (52 points), Vincent Trocheck (37) and J.T. Miller (36). Artemi Panarin, traded just before the Olympic break, had the most points this season for the Rangers (57) at age 34.
Will Cuylle now has three seasons with 200 or more hits, tied with Dan Girardi for second most such seasons among Rangers players since first tracked in 2005-06, and trailing only Ryan Callahan’s four such campaigns.
The No. 1 pick in 2020, Alexis Lafreniere, has a 0.52 career points-per-game rate that is fourth lowest among No. 1 overall picks with 400 NHL games played, behind Garry Monahan (1963, 0.38), Patrik Stefan (1999, 0.41) and Doug Wickenheiser (1980, 0.50).
BostonBruins at
PhiladelphiaFlyers
Saturday, 3 p.m. ETXfinity Mobile Arena
Bruins
Record: 33-20-5, 71 pointsPower Ranking: 11Leading scorer: David Pastrnak (22 goals, 50 assists)
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Notes from ESPN Research
The Bruins missed the playoffs last season, and haven’t missed in consecutive seasons since 2014-15 and 2015-16. The B’s have a .794 points percentage in 2026 (12-2-3), which is second best in the NHL behind the Tampa Bay Lightning (.861, 15-2-1).
Pastrnak leads the team with 72 points. This is his fourth career 50-assist season, tying Johnny Bucyk and Adam Oates for the fourth most such seasons in Bruins history.
Morgan Geekie’s 33 goals this season are tied with Cole Caufield for fourth in the NHL, behind Nathan MacKinnon (40), Connor McDavid (35) and Matt Boldy (34).
Charlie McAvoy’s 340 career points are third among Bruins defensemen in their first nine NHL seasons, behind Bobby Orr (870) and Ray Bourque (695).
Flyers
Record: 26-21-11, 63 pointsPower Ranking: 23Leading scorer: Travis Konecny (22 goals, 33 assists)
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Notes from ESPN Research
The Flyers have missed the playoffs for five straight seasons, but they have the fifth-youngest roster in the NHL in 2025-26, including nine players under the age of 30 with 20 or more points this season.
Trevor Zegras’ 50 points are the second most by a player skating on a new team this season, behind Mitch Marner (58 with the Vegas Golden Knights).
According to NHL Edge, Owen Tippett has 38 speed bursts of 22 mph-plus this season, second in the NHL behind Connor McDavid — who has 110 such bursts.
Travis Sanheim, Nick Seeler and Cam York each have 100 or more blocked shots this season. The Flyers are one of four teams who have three players with 100 or more blocked shots, along with the Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens and Dallas Stars.
