Rangers' St. Louis to play in front of family members in Game 6 vs. Penguins on Mother's Day

The New York Rangers will play host to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Game 6 of their second-round series on Sunday, a day that will hold special significance for Martin St. Louis, whose mother passed away unexpectedly earlier in the week.

St. Louis flew back to Montreal after Game 5 Friday, but will return to New York with his father, Normand, and sister, Isabelle, so they will be able to spend Mother’s Day together and be at Madison Square Garden for Game 6.

“Obviously, it’s going to be a very emotional night again for our group, it being mother’s day and the situation Marty is going through right now,” head coach Alain Vigneault said. “Marty flew home last night to Montreal after the game to pick up his father and his sister. He’s bringing them both to the game tomorrow and, hopefully, that will bring us some positive energy.”

The Rangers need a win to keep their their playoff hopes alive, and will be looking to channel that emotion into a united effort.

“I do know it’s going to be emotional night without a doubt for our group again,” Vigneualt reiterated. “But, through adversity and through some of these moments, we’ve been able to focus in the right areas and I think that’s what we did last night. We focused in the right areas and applied the game plan that we wanted to apply. Right now, if our intentions are on continuing to play this year, we have to win tomorrow."