If history is any indication, the Pittsburgh Penguins should have plenty of confidence going into their Eastern Conference second-round match up against the New York Rangers. The Pens have never lost a playoff series to the Rangers in four tries, and the hope is the fifth time won’t be the charm for the Rangers. Playoff success has been hard to come by for the Rangers, as they have not advanced beyond the second round since they won Lord Stanley in 1994.
History is not the only advantage the Penguins look to have in this series. Though the Pens split the season series with the Rangers, they were 13 points better than division rival during the regular season. Add the fact that the Rangers will to play a total of five games in seven days, including Games 1, 2 and 3 in a four-day span, and you have to like the Penguins odds of advancing to their second consecutive Eastern Conference Final.
Unfortunately for the Penguins, history and inherent advantages in the playoff schedule will not be enough to get them past a team as strong as the Rangers. The Rangers advanced thanks to a hard fought seven-game series win over the Philadelphia Flyers.
Many fans seemed happy to see the Rangers instead of the hated Flyers, but Pens fans should be wary. Lets take a closer look at the New York Rangers.
First and foremost, the Rangers have Henrik Lundqvist. Lundqvist is without question, the best goaltender in the NHL who has yet to win a Cup, and many would argue he might be the best goalie in the league. His presence alone should give Pens fans pause, as he is more than capable of taking over a series on his own. If there is a silver lining, its Lundqvist’s 34-40 career playoff record, not exactly numbers you would expect from such an outstanding goalie.
Defensively, the Rangers are exceptionally strong. The top pairing of Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonough not only eat up the lions share of minutes for the Rangers, they will be expected to stop Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. The Penguins star performers can expect to see both Girardi and McDonough much of the time they are on the ice.
Anton Stralman and Marc Staal give the Rangers added depth on the blue line, and both are coming off excellent series against the Flyers. John Moore and Kevin Klein round out the top 6. It should be noted few teams are more adept at blocking shots than the Rangers, and their blue liners are not afraid to play an extremely physical brand of hockey.
At forward, its been the secondary players that have been carrying the load so far for the men in blue. The Rangers best line against the Flyers was their second line of Mats Zuccarello, Derick Brassard and Benoit Pouliot. This line was incredibly active and made a significant impact on the flow of the game swinging in the Rangers favor. All three forwards can really skate, and Zuccarello in particular, looks like a player who could be a difference maker in the series.
Speaking of so called difference makers, Rick Nash, one of the dynamic goal scorers in the NHL in recent years, has a grand total of one goal in 19 postseason appearances for the Rangers. Add Brad Richards and deadline acquisition Martin St. Louis to the list of top-flight performers who have come up short. In fact, St. Louis has been on a prolonged goal scoring drought since he demanded a trade from the Lightning, though he may be breaking out of his slump after scoring two goals against the Flyers in the first round.
Though the first line of Nash, Richards and St. Louis have been disappointing, the fourth line of former Penguin Dominic Moore, Derek Dorsett and Brian Boyle have been outstanding. This line could play a huge role in how the series goes, as the Penguins have certainly had their issues finding the right combination on their fourth line.
If strong goaltending, defense and overall team speed are among the Rangers biggest strengths, the Rangers do have a couple of issues that might help the Penguins win this series. For one, the Rangers have struggled mightily to score goals with regularity. With Nash struggling to put the puck in the net at all, the Rangers are often hard pressed to find players who can provide a consistent threat of scoring.
Another glaring weakness for the Rangers is their special teams. Though the Rangers ranked third in terms of killing penalties in the regular season, they had their fair share of struggles against the Flyers. If the Penguins can find a way to get their PP going against a Rangers PK that has had its difficulties of late, this would be a big edge.
As for the power play, few teams have struggled as badly as the Rangers. Outside of a single power play goal in game one, the Rangers failed to score on 22 PP chances in the Flyers series.
In the end the real questions for the teams come down to whether or not the Penguins can play smart hockey where they avoid taking unnecessary penalties or allow the Rangers to take advantage of defensive gaffes that happened way too often against an overmatched Blue Jackets squad.
Goals will be at a premium also, and the Penguins will need to take advantage of the fact that they have two of the best goal scorers in hockey in Crosby and Malkin, they will need to step up in this series, no question.
With the Rangers invariably feeling the effects of a hard fought seven game battle against the physical Flyers, one would have to think the first three games of the series being played in four days will be extremely difficult to overcome.
How those first three games play out will speak volumes on how the series will go. If the Pens get off to a strong start, they should be able to advance. If they allow the Rangers to get off to a strong start, and keep the series close early, this could be a very tough series, and one the Pens could very well lose.
My prediction is the Pens will get off to that strong start, and win the series against a hard fighting Rangers squad in six games.
