Pittsburgh, PA (My Sportsbook) - Darius Kasparaitis returns to his former home tonight when his New York Rangers visit the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Igloo.

Before being dealt to Colorado at the trade deadline last March, Kasparaitis spent parts of six seasons in the Steel City after beginning his NHL career with the New York Islanders in 1992. While with Pittsburgh he built his reputation as one of the league's fiercest hitters. After helping Colorado advance to the Western Conference finals, the Russia native inked a free agent deal with the Rangers in July.

Kasparaitis said, while he does have friends on the Penguins' roster, he won't think twice about throwing his weight around.

"I have no friends when I play," he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "If I have a chance, I'll finish my check, but I'm not going to try to hurt anybody."

Kasparaitis and Co. are off to a 1-1 start to the season, as they opened with a 4-1 win in Carolina before dropping a decision of the same score to Montreal on Friday night at the Garden.

Playing without Pavel Bure for the second straight game, the Rangers' lone source of offense was a Mikael Samuelsson goal midway through the first period. They fired 21 shots in all on Hart and Vezina winner Jose Theodore, period. They fired 21 shots in all on Hart and Vezina winner Jose Theodore, but were for the most part stymied. Bure, suffering from strep throat, is not expected to play this evening either, and is questionable for Tuesday's home match against Toronto.

Mike Richter allowed three goals on 25 shots in his second start of the season. The veteran is, however, expected to yield to sophomore Dan Blackburn this evening. In 31 games as a rookie, Blackburn went 12-16-0 with a 3.28 goals-against average and .898 save-percentage.

After tonight the Rangers return home for Tuesday's game with Toronto to begin a stretch that has them at MSG for five-of-six contests. Coach Bryan Trottier hopes to receive a better reception upon returning home, as the former Islander was showered with some boos during Friday's home opener.

The Penguins, whom Trottier won two Stanley Cups with in the early 90s, hope to rebound from their worst season-opening loss ever, a 6-0 home pounding at the hands of Toronto on Thursday night. Goaltender Johan Hedberg was the sacrificial lamb in net, as he allowed all six scores on 25 shots.

The dismal showing just picked things up where the team left off last spring, as Pittsburgh finished 2001-02 on an 0-8-1-1 slide to finish its worst campaign since Mario Lemieux's rookie year of 1984-85.

Speaking of Lemieux, the Hall of Famer appeared in his first game since February 27, as he missed the final six weeks of last season due to a hip injury. Lemieux logged 23:28 of ice time and registered five shots on net in the opener

Pittsburgh, which began last season 0-4, heads to Toronto Monday before returning home for a pair of tilts against Atlanta and Tampa Bay later in the week.

The Pens went 3-2 against the Rangers last season, including a 3-0 clip on home ice. Pittsburgh is 9-2-1 in the last 12 clashes overall, winning the last seven at the Igloo. New York hasn't won in the Steel City since January 25, 2000.