5 Keys To Beating The Rangers In First Round Of Playoffs
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Spring has arrived and it brought playoff hockey back to the 'Burgh and a familiar foe awaits.
For the third straight season, the Pittsburgh Penguins will meet the New York Rangers. Two years ago, the Penguins blew a 3-1 series lead before losing Game 7 on home ice. Last year, Pittsburgh limped into the playoffs and while they held their own against New York, the Rangers prevailed in five games.
However, things are very different this year.
Pittsburgh enters the playoffs as one of, if not, the hottest team in the National Hockey League. For much of the season, this was a team mired in a battle for a Wild Card berth.
However, wins in 18 of their final 23 games propelled them to a second place finish in the Metropolitan Division.
A major reason was Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang taking their game to another level under Mike Sullivan.
According to the Penguins' official website, Crosby racked up 66 points (30 goals, 36 assists) since Dec. 12. No one in the league was better. During the same timeframe, Letang led all NHL defensemen with 53 points (15 goals, 38 assists).
As for the matchup with the Rangers, Pittsburgh won the season series 3-1 and racked up 12 goals. It's worth noting they were blanked 3-0 in their first meeting on Feb. 10.
So, how can the Penguins get some revenge against New York for two consecutive playoff exits? Here are five things to watch for:
- Stay In Lundqvist's Head
Look, no goaltender likes bodies in and around his paint. They really don't like when they get bumped or whacked after a whistle. But, few dislike these things more than Henrik Lundqvist.
There is no debating that Lundqvist is one of the best goaltenders in the world. I enjoy watching him play, but he's human and he's beatable.
After his meltdown during a game on March 3, the Penguins seemed to believe they could score on him again. Don't remember the meltdown? Here's a refresher:
You mad bro? pic.twitter.com/SzGIETehB5
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 4, 2016
In Lundqvist's defense, Ryan McDonagh had just plowed into him. He appeared to have suffered an injury and the refs didn't give him the whistle he wanted. However, he remained in the game after throwing the net off and promptly surrendered three goals in 1:39.
Lundqvist did not come back out for the third period and missed a few games in the aftermath.
Blame the injury all you want, but the Penguins beat him seven more times over the next two games.
So, how can they ensure that kind of production continues? Get in his kitchen as often as possible. Follow the example of Patric Hornqvist, who has made a career of scoring dirty goals in and around the net.
Get pucks to the net, take his eyes away and crash for rebounds. It sounds simple, but against a goalie like Lundqvist, it's essential.
- Use The Speed Advantage
Is there another team in the Eastern Conference that can match the speed of the Pittsburgh Penguins? Probably not.
Sidney Crosby, Carl Hagelin, Phil Kessel, Conor Sheary, Tom Kuhnhackl, etc. and that's just the forwards. Add in Kris Letang and other puck-movers like Trevor Daley and Justin Schultz and you've got quite the combination.
During a matchup with the Rangers at Madison Square Garden, Kessel turned on the afterburners and smoked McDonagh and Dan Girardi within minutes. That's just one example that sticks out from the season series.
So, how do the Rangers neutralize it? I'm glad I don't have to figure that out.
The Penguins are fast enough to beat a trap. They are skilled enough to beat the Rangers' forecheck. Then, figure in that quickness on a counter-attack off a turnover and it's a matchup nightmare.
All four Pittsburgh lines can flat out skate and the bottom six is the best this team has had in years.
I'm not saying the Rangers are slow, but they can't match the Penguins' speed overall. It's a distinct advantage the Penguins will need to exploit in this series.
- Special Teams
This one goes without saying, but special teams need to be clicking in the playoffs.
The Penguins' penalty kill was fifth in the league this year at 84.4 percent. However, the power play has been hit or miss to say the least. Without Evgeni Malkin, it's even more up in the air.
Pittsburgh finished with the 16th best power play (18.4 percent) in the league this season. But, the Rangers were only 14th overall (18.6 percent).
So, why is it important for the Penguins to figure things out on the power play? The Rangers were 26th overall on the PK at 78.2 percent. Those numbers get even worse on the road.
They were shorthanded 126 times and allowed 32 goals away from home. That's a 74.6 percent kill rate, which was 28th in the league. They also only scored three shorthanded goals this year, but the Penguins have had a knack for allowing their fair share of chances.
Keep in mind, the Penguins have home-ice advantage in this series. At home, their power play numbers were slightly better at 19.6 percent.
Meanwhile, Pittsburgh has the best road PK in the league at 85.7 percent. At home, they are 11th at 83.1 percent.
During the season series, the Penguins were 2-for-10 on the power play. The Rangers were 1-for-9.
- Marc-Andre Fleury or Matt Murray Good To Go?
I have a very hard time believing that Matt Murray would have started against the Flyers on Saturday if Marc-Andre Fleury wasn't ready to go in Game 1. Considering he practiced this weekend, I'm hoping that's another good sign.
If there was even a doubt about Fleury starting the series, common sense would dictate that Murray sit out the season finale. I understand and accept Mike Sullivan's explanation about wanting to get Murray some bigger game road experience. For the Penguins, the game meant nothing. But, the Flyers were fighting to get into the playoffs. Road games in hostile environments are something Murray will eventually get a taste of in his career.
I can't even imagine what will happen if they knew Fleury was questionable to start the playoffs and they started Murray anyway. No offense to Jeff Zatkoff, but he's not leading this team to a Stanley Cup.
Murray has at least proven himself to be a better option than Zatkoff. Why risk playing him if your franchise goalie isn't good to go?
Of course, if the Penguins continue to score four or five goals a game, it doesn't matter who is in net.
Anyway, Fleury is capable of stealing a game or two and played extremely well against the Rangers last year. The Penguins were outclassed in that series and he only allowed 11 goals in five games.
He had another great regular season with a 35-17-6 record to go along with a 2.29 GAA and .921 save percentage. There's nothing to suggest he won't continue to be a rock in goal – if he plays.
- Reinforcements On The Way?
The remarkable turnaround of the Penguins is even more impressive when you figure in all the injuries they have sustained.
Currently, Olli Maatta, Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust, Beau Bennett, Scott Wilson and Kevin Porter are missing. You can also add Pascal Dupuis to the list and we've already covered the Fleury and Murray situation.
During a press conference on Sunday, head coach Mike Sullivan listed many as "day-to-day."
Is he just being coy? It's possible. This is the playoffs and injury information becomes even more vague than usual this time of year.
Or, could some of the bigger names on that list be closer to returning than initially believed?
Maatta returned to practice this weekend, but skated on the fourth paring with Derrick Pouliot. After Monday's practice, Sullivan said Maatta is a game-time decision for Game 1.
#Pens Maatta will be a coach's game-time decision for Game 1 vs. #NYR on Wednesday, per Sullivan.
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) April 12, 2016
As for Malkin, he skated by himself prior to practice on Sunday. He missed the final 15 games of the season after sustaining an "upper-body" injury on March 11. The original timeline for his return was 6-8 weeks, which would put him closer to the end of the first round or beginning of the second round.
Now, I might be reading too much into him being listed as "day-to-day."
Generally, guys practice with the team a couple of times before getting back into the lineup. So, the next couple of days should be interesting. How close is he? Time will tell.
If he does return in this series, where will he fit in? I don't think you can touch the current top two lines. Maybe Malkin centering Matt Cullen and [insert speedy winger here] could work.
Imagine trying to match up against three lines like that. Kind of fun isn't it?
Prediction
With how the Penguins have played down the stretch, it's hard to pick against them. If Fleury starts the series, I think the Penguins could take this in as little as five games.
If he misses the start and Murray or Zatkoff have to step in for a game or two, this could go seven.
So, let's just split the difference and go with the Penguins in 6.
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