SERIES PREVIEW
by Kevin Greenstein

The Pens got sweet revenge on the Senators, trouncing them in four straight games to start off their postseason with a bang. And the Rangers did much the same, their five-game Round One victory over New Jersey helping ease the pain of their disappointing 2006 loss to those Devils. Both teams have had substantial rest after Round One (the Penguins eight days and the Rangers six), but the rest is more valuable than the rust is a concern. It’s quite rare that a team wins the Cup after taking seven games to win its first round series.

FORWARDS

Penguins: Any discussion of the Pens’ offense must begin with Sidney Crosby, already the NHL’s most dynamic playmaker at the tender age of 20. He scored eight points in four games to lead the Pens’ to victory in Round One, but as we discovered during the regular season, he is not the only elite-level offensive catalyst in Pittsburgh. Evgeni Malkin took over quite capably when Crosby went down with a high ankle sprain, emerging as a bona fide Hart Trophy candidate with a sensational performance. He finished second in league scoring behind Alexander Ovechkin with 106 points, and his seven points was second best for the Pens in Round One. Stopping this dynamic duo will be no easy feat for the Rangers.

Rangers: It wasn’t exactly a vintage regular season for Jaromir Jagr, who tallied only 71 points despite playing in all 82 games. But he turned things on against the Devils in Round One, leading the Rangers with eight points in five games. If he keeps up this strong play and leads the Blueshirts to the Cup, a Conn Smythe Trophy win would trigger a lucrative one-year contract extension, a storyline worth following as the playoffs proceed. Also key to the Rangers’ Round One win were playmaker Scott Gomez (seven points in five games) and Brandon Dubinsky (six points), who’s been a revelation as the pivot on Jagr’s line. And of course, there’s “Mr. Clutch” Chris Drury; he scored only three points in Round One, but one of them was, of course, the series-winning goal.

DEFENSE

Penguins: Sergei Gonchar leads the Pens’ blue line, quarterbacking their stellar power play while playing much better in his own zone than he’s ever given credit for. He and Ryan Whitney combined for only three points in Round One, and though more wasn’t required of them against the Sens, they will need to step up—particularly when with the man advantage—if they’re to defeat the Rangers here. Also worth watching is hard-hitting rearguard Brooks Orpik, who is capable of delivering game-changing checks à la former New Jersey Devils captain Scott Stevens.

Rangers: The Blueshirts’ defense definitely operates by committee, with no clearly top pair emerging during the regular season. And without question, youth is served on the Rangers’ blue line, with youngsters Marc Staal, Daniel Girardi, Fedor Tyutin, and Christian Backman all getting plenty of ice time in head coach Tom Renney’s system. This no-name defense might not contain any Norris Trophy candidates, but it surely gets the job done in front of Henrik Lundqvist.

GOALTENDING

Penguins: When Marc-Andre Fleury went down with a high ankle sprain (much like Crosby), journeyman back-up Ty Conklin saved the Pens’ season. But upon his return, Fleury caught fire, outplaying Conklin down the stretch to recapture the starting role. No NHL netminder is faster from pipe-to-pipe than Fleury, and he will need to be at his best to neutralize the Rangers’ dangerous power play.

Rangers: Lundqvist was absolutely stellar in Round One, and his ability to match Martin Brodeur save-for-save (in fact, even bettering the legendary Brodeur) paved the way for the Rangers’ victory. If Lundqvist continues to play at this level, look for him to deliver a postseason performance reminiscent of his 2006 Olympic Gold Medal-winning effort for Team Sweden.

PREDICTION

Rangers in Six

Game One
Penguins 5, Rangers 4
by Angie Carducci

Why the Penguins won: After a nine-day layoff since sweeping the Ottawa Senators, the Penguins might have been expected to come out sluggish for Game One against the Rangers. But Pittsburgh did anything but, outshooting New York 8-0 in the first seven minutes of the game. They couldn’t convert those opportunities and fell into a 3-0 hole by early in the second period, but continued to put shots on goal and crash the net, and it paid off as the Penguins scored twice within 14 seconds to cut the deficit to 3-2 and get themselves, and their home crowd, right back into the game. Pittsburgh’s willingness to throw the puck at the net, instead of waiting for the perfect shot, proved effective as at least three Penguins goals went in off of deflections behind Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist.

Why the Rangers lost: The Rangers weathered the early Penguins storm behind the sharp play of Lundqvist and his shot-blockers, keeping Pittsburgh off the board before going on the offensive. New York looked to be in great shape at the 3:37 mark of the second, when Sean Avery broke in alone on the right wing, lifted a pretty shot past Penguins netminder Marc-Andre Fleury and padded the Rangers’ lead to 3-0. But then the Rangers stopped pressing, and some defensive breakdowns and ill-timed penalties allowed the Penguins’ explosive offense to get right back into the game. From there, the Rangers fell into the trap of allowing Pittsburgh’s offense to dictate the play, as opposed to playing their own defensive system, and the Penguins capitalized on the opportunities.

Play of the game: Did Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby embellish on the interference call he drew against former Penguin Marty Straka at 16:40 of the third? Straka and the Rangers didn’t want to comment, but with the call going Pittsburgh’s way, the Penguins had an opportunity to take the lead late in a 4-4 tied game. And they did just that, with defenseman Ryan Whitney firing a pass from the blue line to Crosby, who was far outside the right face-off circle. Crosby fired a rocket toward the net, and it banked off of Evgeni Malkin’s leg in front and over Lundqvist’s shoulder to give the Penguins the 5-4 lead and eventual win.

What’s next: Both teams were coming off of short series in the first round and long layoffs since, with the Penguins sitting for nine days and the Rangers for seven. Now that they’ve got their game legs back, the question will be whether New York can find the resiliency to forget the blown 3-0 lead in Game One and resume playing the smart, disciplined defensive style that enabled them to dispatch the New Jersey Devils in five games. Although both teams have high-powered offenses, both have deceptively efficient defenses and very strong goaltending, and played mostly tight, low-scoring games in their eight meetings this season. The open offense of Game One, while highly entertaining, was more likely a product of breakdowns and sloppy plays resulting from the long layoffs than it is indicative of the rest of what figures to be a tight, hard-fought series.

Game Two
Penguins 2, Rangers 0
by Angie Carducci

Why the Penguins won: After the Penguins won a wild Game One 5-4, New York
talked about having to get back to “Rangers hockey,” the solid defensive
system on which they’ve based their success this year. In Game Two, the
Rangers got the tight defensive game they wanted, but the Penguins
adjusted and still found a way to win. Pittsburgh got into some penalty
trouble, allowing the Rangers as many power play chances in the first
period alone as they allowed in all of Game One, but the Penguins
continued to get strong work from their penalty kill and goalie Marc-Andre
Fleury, who finished with 26 saves for the shutout. Jordan Staal’s power
play goal at 13:55 of the second period was the margin of error throughout
most of the game, and the Penguins continued to work hard, do the little
things well, and eventually iced the win on Adam Hall’s empty net goal.

Why the Rangers lost: The Rangers know they can’t outgun the speedy,
skilled Penguins’ offense, and smartly approached Game Two with a plan of
getting the Penguins to play their game. Still, New York’s defense allowed
31 shots against Henrik Lundqvist, with many of the stops requiring the
goaltender to be dazzling, while the Rangers’ offense didn’t test Fleury
as hard. Worst, the Rangers’ power play continued to sputter as it has for
much of the season, going 0-for-6 and likely losing the game for New York.
The Rangers power play units kept possession of the puck for most of their
time with the man-advantage, but too often passed around the perimeter,
looking for the perfect play, while failing to generate shots on goal that
could have resulted in lucky bounces or deflections.

Play of the game: Down 1-0, the Rangers appeared to get a break late in
the third period when the Penguins’ Petr Sykora headed to the penalty box
for high sticking. On the resulting power play, with the Rangers swarming
around the net, former Penguin Marty Straka got in a shot that got lost
under Fleury. It had beaten the Penguins goaltender between his pads and
was trickling into the net when the referees lost sight of the puck and
whistled the play dead. That kept the Rangers off the scoreboard and
preserved the Penguins’ slender lead.

What’s next: Pittsburgh now has a 2-0 series lead and remains the only
undefeated team in the playoffs. Now the Penguins take their show on the
road to New York’s Madison Square Garden, where the Rangers feel confident
after beating them in all four regular-season contests. Pittsburgh will
need to continue to play it simple, throwing pucks at the net and testing
Lundqvist as much as possible. The Rangers were headed in the right
direction in Game Two, and must continue to play sound defensive hockey
and resist the temptation to get into a run-and-gun game with the
Penguins’ offensive stars, especially at home where the pressure will be
high for them to win the next two games.

Game Three
Penguins 5, Rangers 3
by Angie Carducci

Why the Penguins won: With the Penguins up two games to one, the series
shifted to New York’s Madison Square Garden for Game 3, where Pittsburgh
had yet to win in four tries this season. The Garden crowd was predictably
raucous to start, but the Penguins quickly negated the Rangers’ home ice
advantage when Pittsburgh’s Marian Hossa put a rebound past goaltender
Henrik Lundqvist at just 1:02 into the game. By the end of the first
period, the Rangers had thrown everything they had at the Penguins, and
were beating them handily in most every statistical category – shots,
scoring chances, face-offs won – but trailed 3-1 as the Penguins made the
most of their opportunities with a highly efficient offensive attack.
Pittsburgh would finish the game with five goals on only 17 shots.

The Penguins’ penalty killing shone in the second period, shutting down
the Rangers on a sequence in which they had three power play chances,
including two extended 5-on-3s. In the entire sequence, Pittsburgh allowed
New York only four shots on goal and continued to show a commitment to
sacrificing the body to block shots and clearing out pucks around
goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. Although the Rangers rallied at even
strength to tie the game 3-3, Penguins coach Michel Therrien smartly used
his time-out, settled his troops, and caught a lucky break when New York’s
Ryan Hollweg took an unnecessary boarding penalty late in the period. On
the resulting power play, Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin celebrated the Hart
Trophy nomination he earned earlier in the day by tallying his second goal
and third point of the game. With the 4-3 lead, the Penguins let their
defensive system take over and secured the win, as well as a 3-0
stranglehold on the series.

Why the Rangers lost: The cards were stacked against the Rangers to start,
as the franchise is 1-for-18 in attempting to come back from series
deficits of 0-2. But New York came out desperate and hungry in this
pivotal Game 3, and set out to establish a physical tone early. There were
more scrums after whistles, and the Penguins took retaliatory penalties
that could have led to trouble. But although the Rangers proved to be much
more willing to crash the net and take the ugly shots on goal, firing 39
total shots at Fleury, they still couldn’t generate offense on the
struggling power play, which went 0-for-5 in Game 3 and has gone 1-for-14
in the series.

To the Rangers’ credit, they never quit regardless of the circumstances of
the game. They had the better second period of the two clubs by far,
outshooting the Penguins 14-4 and scoring twice. But as soon as the
Penguins found a way to score three goals in the first period, Pittsburgh
managed to turn this contest into exactly the game the Rangers didn’t want
– another high-scoring barnburner reminiscent of Game 1. The Rangers, who
came out with the intent of playing a tight, low-scoring game, were again
forced into a situation of trying to outgun the young, skilled Penguins.
That cost New York in the third period, as the team had clearly given all
it had to staging a hard-fought second period comeback, and couldn’t match
the intensity of earlier in the game.

Play of the game: Rangers captain Jaromir Jagr was easily New York’s best
player in Game 3, playing with fire and desperation as he tried to lead
his team back into the series. At 13:11 of the second period, Jagr tied
the game with the Rangers’ second goal in 64 seconds. New York smelled
blood after that and picked up the pace, sustaining pressure in the
Penguins’ end and missing on several excellent chances to take their first
lead of the game, including one by Scott Gomez that rang off the post.

But immediately following that sequence, the Rangers’ momentum took a
serious blow when Hollweg hit Petr Sykora from behind and took the
boarding call that led to Malkin’s go-ahead goal. Rangers coach Tom Renney
had inserted the hard-hitting winger into the lineup, scratching speedy
winger Petr Prucha, in an attempt to apply more pressure off the
forecheck. But in Hollweg’s eagerness to play the physical style Renney
expected, he went too far, and the ill-timed penalty essentially resulted
in the Rangers having battled back from the 3-1 deficit for nothing.

What’s next: The Rangers must be wondering what else they can possibly
throw at the Penguins that would result in a win. To avoid being swept out
of the postseason, the Rangers will need to dictate the pace of Game 4 and
play the tight, defensive style with which they’ve been successful this
year. They’ll need to exercise discipline in avoiding bad penalties, and
finally convert on their own power play by solving Pittsburgh’s
outstanding penalty killing, which is shutting opponents down at a rate of
more than 90 percent in these playoffs. Lundqvist gives New York a good
chance to win every night, but the entire lineup must play with an
intensity matching Jagr’s Game 3 performance if the Rangers hope to return
to Pittsburgh for a Game 5.

For the Penguins, with a 7-0 record, they remain the only undefeated team
in the postseason and will be looking to close out the series on Thursday
at the Garden. Pittsburgh needs to continue doing the little things well,
playing solid defense and utilizing its speed and skill to produce timely
offense. Fleury has blossomed in these playoffs, and his continued strong
play has become a given for his team. Most of all, the Penguins will need
to continue to remain focused on the task at hand, and ignore the growing
excitement surrounding the team. They’ll be facing a desperate, hungry and
proud Rangers team fighting for its season in Game 4, and New York is
certain not to go down without a fight.

Game Four
Rangers 3, Penguins 0
by Angie Carducci

Why the Rangers won: Throughout the series, the Rangers have struggled to
return to their comfort zone and play tight, defense-first hockey. But
throughout the series, the Penguins’ speedy, skilled offense has negated
that strategy and dictated the tone of the game – until Game 4.

Down three games to none and desperate to avoid the embarrassment of a
sweep on home ice, New York came out physical, throwing 15 hits in the
first period. And although the Rangers took two penalties in the opening
frame, their tenacious defense and penalty kill aggressively cleared out
pucks, impeded the Penguins’ chances to get into the offensive zone, and
frustrated Pittsburgh’s attack. The Rangers came hard at the Penguins’
net, firing 33 shots at goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, and their power
play, previously 1 for 14 in the series, finally found some success. New
York converted two of seven chances with the man-advantage, including one
on a nice play from rookie Brandon Dubinsky, who recovered the puck after
being knocked down, patiently held on until Fleury committed, then shot it
into the open net on the goalie’s stick side.

Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist was outstanding and singlehandedly stole prime
scoring opportunities from the Penguins throughout the night, earning 29
saves, his second career playoff shutout and the game’s first star. And
for the second consecutive game, Jaromir Jagr dispelled any doubts about
his passion or leadership as he put on a dominant performance with the
hope of salvaging his team’s playoff life. In Game 3, the Rangers captain
had fired 10 shots; in Game 4, he figured in on all three goals, scoring
two and assisting on the other.

Why the Penguins lost: The Penguins had gone 7-0 to start the playoffs,
but that run ended in Game 4. Pittsburgh had its chances to score early in
the game, particularly from the line of Sidney Crosby, Marian Hossa and
Pascal Dupuis, but every opportunity was blocked by the Rangers’ defenders
and Lundqvist. The longer the game went scoreless, the more it seemed to
favor New York, which preferred a lower-scoring, defensive battle. Late in
the game, coach Michel Therrien put his three biggest threats – Crosby,
Hossa and Evgeni Malkin – together in a desperate attempt to generate some
offense, but the Penguins still came up empty.

Pittsburgh’s best opportunity of the game may have come at 17:53 of the
second period, when Malkin came in on a breakaway from just inside the
center line. Rangers blueliner Dan Girardi had broken his stick and
instead defended Malkin with a push from behind, which sent the big center
hard into the net and Lundqvist. A penalty shot was awarded, but Malkin’s
slow-motion move didn’t get much on the Rangers’ goalie, who made an easy
stop.

Fleury turned in another strong performance for the Penguins, stopping 31
of the 33 shots he faced, and his defense again made a substantial
contribution, blocking 20 shots. But the Penguins’ lack of discipline cost
them; with seven chances, even the Rangers’ previously sputtering power
play was bound to convert eventually. Dubinsky’s goal with the
man-advantage, just 44 seconds into the third, was crucial as it gave the
Rangers a 2-0 lead, and that was all New York and Lundqvist needed to shut
the door the rest of the way.

Play of the game: With both teams scoreless well into the second period,
some serious momentum was up for grabs with the first goal of the game.
And it was Jagr who scored it at 12:45 of the second, barreling to the
front of the net and getting off the shot just as he was leveled by
Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik. The big man went down hard, laying
face-down on the ice for several moments after the goal, and was
eventually helped to the bench by the Rangers’ medical staff. The New York
captain’s willingness to take a big hit to make the play exemplified his
team’s desire, and he returned to the ice a few minutes later without
missing a single shift.

What’s next: Did the Rangers simply ward off the inevitable, or can they
get back into this series? Now down three games to one, New York has
earned the right to return to Pittsburgh for Game 5 on Sunday afternoon.
That contest will be a big test for the Rangers, as the Penguins’
offensive attack will be difficult to contain for two consecutive games,
especially on Pittsburgh’s home ice. The Rangers will need to play with
discipline, continue to get strong work from their special teams, and get
another outstanding game from Lundqvist. They’ll also need to sustain a
total team effort, as players step up to fill big gaps created by injuries
to Sean Avery (lacerated spleen), Blair Betts (fractured orbital bone) and
Chris Drury (torso injury). Although Drury played in Game 4 and logged 20
minutes of ice time, he’s not near 100 percent.

Game 5 may be an even bigger test of the young Penguins’ character. Prior
to Game 4, they had trailed for only about 30 minutes in all of these
playoffs, and this first loss constitutes the most significant adversity
they’ve faced thus far. The Penguins’ offense will need to pressure the
Rangers into defensive breakdowns, and they’d be well advised to make
things easier on themselves and Fleury by limiting the number of power
plays they allow – at least two of Pittsburgh’s most important shot
blockers are nursing foot injuries, with Max Talbot’s break keeping him
out indefinitely and Rob Scuderi playing through pain. Fleury hasn’t been
on the losing side of things often since returning from injury in late
February, and must shake off the setback and approach Game 5 with
confidence. The Penguins will be hungry to close out the series on Sunday,
and not allow the Rangers to gain additional momentum and send the series
back to Manhattan.

Game Five
Penguins 3, Rangers 2 (OT)
by Angie Carducci

Why the Penguins won: Regardless of whether the Penguins are able to sign Marian Hossa after the season, the 29-year-old forward has more than justified Pittsburgh’s decision to acquire him at the trade deadline. In Game 5, Hossa shed the label of being a guy who can’t score in the playoffs in dramatic fashion, notching two goals, including the series-winner 7:10 into overtime. Evgeni Malkin also continued to be an offensive force in the series, recording an amazing 10 shots on Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist and scoring a beauty off the backhand at 12:40 of the second period to give the Penguins what at the time seemed to be a commanding 2-0 lead.

The young Penguins were accused of acting out in frustration toward the end of Game 4, their first loss of the playoffs. But in Game 5 they frustrated the Rangers instead, allowing New York to hand them seven opportunities on the power play. After the Penguins went scoreless for all of Game 4 and the first 28:45 of Game 5, Hossa put Pittsburgh on the board with Rangers defenseman Michal Rozsival in the box, and breathed life and confidence back into the Penguins’ offensive stars.

The Penguins’ defense again limited goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury’s workload, especially during their four penalty kills when they continued to do a good job of forcing the Rangers to take low-percentage shots from the perimeter. But again the 23-year-old netminder was sharp when he needed to be, stopping 20 of the 22 shots he faced. Fleury’s most important saves may have come in the first minute of the game, when the desperate Rangers, facing elimination, stormed out of the gate with two good chances in the first 20 seconds and four shots on goal in the first minute. By shutting down those early chances, Fleury prevented the Rangers from capitalizing on the momentum of their big Game 4 win.

Why the Rangers lost: After Game 4, Rangers captain Jaromir Jagr said the difference between the two teams was the intensity; up three games to none, Pittsburgh knew it was playing in a non-critical Game 4, while for New York it was a Game 7. This Game 5 was essentially another Game 7 for the Rangers, and if they had been able to win it, closing the series gap to 3-2 and heading back to New York, the complexion of the series would have changed dramatically.

New York again came out looking like a team fighting for its playoff life, but after Pittsburgh shut the door early, the Rangers became frustrated and got into penalty trouble. At least one break didn’t go New York’s way – 1:32 into the second period, Ryan Malone clipped Chris Drury under the face shield and drew significant blood, but escaped without a penalty call – but the Rangers failed to keep their composure and spent eight minutes of the period killing off Penguins power plays. Pittsburgh outshot New York 17-4 in the period, with the Rangers failing to register a single shot in the final 14:50 of the frame. New York forced Lundqvist, who faced 40 shots, to be nothing short of spectacular to keep them in the game. And the Rangers abandoned the physical game that had been a crucial part of their Game 4 win, getting outhit by Pittsburgh 36-19 in regulation.

Two young Rangers led a frenetic comeback attempt early in the third period, with 21-year-old center Lauri Korpikoski – playing his first NHL game in place of the injured Blair Betts – scoring on only his second career shot to cut the Penguins’ lead to 2-1. Just 1:22 later, 23-year-old Nigel Dawes, denied on an outstanding chance at the end of the first period, took a pass from Scott Gomez and made a nice move in front of the net to beat Fleury from in close. The 2-2 tie held until overtime, but the Rangers again got a bad break when Drury was called for a double minor – ironically enough, for high-sticking Malone and drawing blood – toward the end of regulation. The Penguins started overtime with 2:41 remaining on the man advantage, and although the Rangers’ penalty kill stood tall, the sheer exhaustion of facing so many chances may have caught up with them on Hossa’s eventual winner.

Play of the game: Although Hossa’s overtime goal was the more dramatic of his two tallies, the first came thanks to sheer hard work from the sniper’s underappreciated two-way play. Thirty seconds into the power play, the Rangers attempted to clear, and the puck tipped off of Hossa’s stick and was sailing out of the New York zone. Hossa threw his body down at the blue line, reaching out his stick and whacking the puck back into play, and about 30 seconds later found himself open on the right side of the net to take a pass from Malone and put it home. Honorable mention goes to Malkin, who muscled his way past Rangers defenseman Paul Mara and toward the net, then whirled around to backhand the puck past Lundqvist.

What’s next: The Rangers head into an off-season that could significantly redefine the makeup of the team. Cornerstones like Lundqvist, Gomez and Drury are locked up long-term, and several young players like Brandon Dubinsky, Marc Staal, Ryan Callahan and Dawes will be important parts of the team going forward. Some of the team’s veteran leaders, however – like Brendan Shanahan, Marty Straka and, most importantly, Jagr – are considering retirement or playing overseas next year.

For the Penguins, it’s on to the Battle of Pennsylvania as they’ll face their fiercest rival, the Philadelphia Flyers, in the Conference Final. Interestingly, it’s also a battle between the team that finished last in the East two years ago, Pittsburgh, versus the one that held that dubious distinction last season, Philadelphia. The Flyers are a physically punishing team that knocked out offensive-minded Montreal in five games, so the Penguins’ offensive stars will have their work cut out for them. Philadelphia has also stepped up its game offensively, with threats like Daniel Briere and Pittsburgh native R.J. Umberger. With the 8-1 playoff run the Penguins carry into the series, however, it’d be tough to bet against them.