NHL Playoffs – Pittsburgh vs N.Y. Picks
The Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers certainly aren’t strangers, and the teams will face off in the second round of the postseason, just their first postseason meeting since way back in 2008. In that series, the Penguins made quick work of the Rangers en route to the Stanley Cup Final.
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Odds
Series: Pittsburgh -140, New York +120
Conference: Pittsburgh +250, New York +600
Stanley Cup: Pittsburgh +600, New York +1200
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In that series, Henrik Lundqvist stole the Rangers a game, shutting out the Penguins in Game 4, and that was their only win in the series. The Rangers will need Lundqvist to be at the top of his game if the team hopes to last in this one, though it’s safe to assume New York will have a significant edge in goal.
Forwards
The Penguins certainly possess plenty of talent at the forward position. The team’s top two lines are loaded, though the bottom six have many pundits questioning whether the team has what it takes. They’ll also need to get some improved play out of captain Sidney Crosby. Six points in six games is nothing to sneeze at, though a minus-2 rating in the opening round just isn’t good enough from the world’s best player. Evgeni Malkin had a strong opening series with three goals and four assists, while Jussi Jokinen stepped up on the win, notching three goals and two assists.
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The Rangers won’t be able to match the Penguins’ top-end talent, though they certainly have the depth that their Pittsburgh counterparts lack. A great sign in the opening round was the improved play of center Brad Richards, who showed some flashes of the player the Rangers brought in on a rich, long-term team. He had two goals and four assists, matching the output of trade deadline acquisition Martin St. Louis.
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If they hope to keep pace with the Penguins in this series, they’ll need more production out of star forward Rick Nash, who was held goalless in the opening round, despite peppering Sergei Bobrovsky with 25 shots over the course of that opening series.
Defensemen
The Pittsburgh back end leaves a lot to be desired, though the unit really stepped up its offensive game in the opening round. Even on a team loaded with high end forwards, the team’s top two point getters in the opening round played on the back end. Paul Martin racked up eight assists while compiling a plus-7 rating in a team-leading 27:19 average time on ice. Fellow defenseman Matt Niskanen recorded two goals and six assists for a matching eight points, doing most of his damage on the power play, where he recorded six of those points, including both goals.
The Rangers’ defense corps didn’t match the Penguins group’s scoring pace, though they were far more reliable in their own end. Defenseman Marc Staal had just two points in the opening round, though he came away with a plus-six rating. Ryan McDonagh led the team with 25:15 time on ice per game in the opening round.
Goaltenders
Marc-Andre Fleury hardly outdueled Sergei Bobrovsky in the opening round, though he did fare better than he has in recent playoff series. Fleury was replaced by Tomas Vokoun a year ago, and it’s hard to imagine that not being in his head right now. At this point in his career, Fleury is just a replacement-level goalie.
Henrik Lundqvist posted a .910 save percentage against the Flyers, a fair bit below what Rangers fans would have liked to have seen from him. The Penguins have plenty of scoring talent, and Lundqvist will need to be at the top of his game from start to finish if the Rangers hope to advance.
The Play!
The Penguins are a favorite of the public, though they are a very flawed group, and a deep squad like the Rangers can exploit their weaknesses. The Rangers can also expect a major edge in net, as Fleury simply can’t be called upon to keep pace with Lundqvist.
Series prediction: Rangers win 4-2
