For the third time in as many years, the Pittsburgh Penguins (48-26-8) will play the New York Rangers (46-27-9) in the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Penguins won the regular season series three games to one, with Pittsburgh scoring a combined 12 goals.
Although Pittsburgh has crushed its competition as of late, this series will be the team’s biggest challenge since head coach Mike Sullivan took the reins in December.
There is a sizable chance Sullivan’s team will begin the playoffs with key players injured, not only without star center Evgeni Malkin (upper body injury) and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury (concussion), but also without backup goaltender Matt Murray, who sustained a head/neck injury during the season finale against the Philadelphia Flyers.
While the Penguins have goaltender Jeff Zatkoff ready to go if needed, Pittsburgh recalled Tristan Jarry from its AHL affiliate team Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, where the 20-year-old goaltender went 17-13-3 with a 2.69 goals-against average and collected five shutouts in 33 games. In other postseason moves, Pittsburgh recalled Tom Sestito, a 28-year-old forward who totaled 14 points in 41 AHL games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
The Penguins will be heading into the playoffs hoping to avenge their past two playoff appearances, which were both cut short by the Rangers—in five games in the 2014-15 season and in seven games in the 2013-14 season.
The Penguins, who enter the playoffs as the two-seed in the Metropolitan Division and have locked up home-ice advantage for this first series, have been continuing to play lights out hockey. However, the question marks surrounding their goaltending pose a potential problem.
The Rangers play a very rough style of hockey. While they may have slowed in the later part of the season, they’re always extremely dangerous when it comes to the playoffs. Following the Rangers’ final game of the season, defenseman Marc Staal said, “We’re not scared of anybody. We’re a good team.”
While the Penguins finished the season third in goals scored per game with a total of 241 goals, the Rangers aren’t far behind with 233 (good for seventh in the league). Pittsburgh also finished better on the defensive side of things, allowing 199 goals to the Rangers’ 215.
However, the ‘restart button’ is pushed in the playoffs, so the Penguins will need to keep their play at the level it’s been in the second half of the season.
Prediction
This will be a very heated, intense and fun series. The Penguins are well-rested after giving center Sidney Crosby and defenseman Kris Letang the night off against Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh’s defense has steadily improved.
New York has had a fantastic 2015-16 season and has only had a few minor dips in performance. The trade-deadline deal that sent center Eric Staal to New York from the Carolina Hurricanes has, thus far, paid major dividends. And, in front of goaltender Henrik Lundqvist is a defense that, at times, is impenetrable.
In this series, Pittsburgh will escape a game seven and will win in six games. The Penguins will drop the first game should neither goaltender be ready—however, it’s difficult to believe either one would be out any longer than that. The offense will continue to carry this team and will act as the catalyst for eliminating the Rangers and moving on to the next round.
Schedule
Game 1 (at PIT): Wed., April 13, 8:00 P.M. ET
Game 2 (at PIT): Sat., April 16, 3:00 P.M. ET
Game 3 (at NYR): Tues., April 19, 7:00 P.M. ET
Game 4 (at NYR): TBD
If necessary:
Game 5 (at PIT): TBD
Game 6 (at NYR): TBD
Game 7 (at PIT): TBD
Image credit: Getty Images
