Crosby, Malkin, Hossa, Malone & Roberts descend upon you. Our pucks will blot out the sun!
Ok ok, I admit that is a just a tad overdramatic. I mean comparing brave King Leonidas' last stand at Thermopylae against the vast Persian Empire to the Rangers having to fend off the offensive prowess of the Pittsburgh Penguins. But, hey I just love a good story line. And this upcoming series between these two star packed teams is just chock-full of juicy story lines.
Where to even begin? Will Jagr flourish back in Pittsburgh against the very team he helped win two cups for? Will the Rangers' high priced off season pick ups pay off here in the second round? Will Pittsburgh's risky trade deadline moves sending youth off to put some extra oomph into their roster pay off? Two Staal brothers enter, only one Staal leaves... Which one? Can Sean Avery unravel the psyche of the young Penguins' goaltender? Which team after both having an extended time off waiting for the first round to end will be first to get back into their groove.
The answers to these questions will be answered soon enough. Game 1 is merely a day away.
Reading around the web it really feels like the Rangers are major underdogs in this series. Scott Burnside, John Buccigross, E. J. Hradek, Barry Melrose, Bob McKenzie, Darren Dreger even Newsday Rangers' beat reporter Steve Zipay are all picking the Penguins to move past the Rangers to the Conference Finals.
The consensus being that the Penguins' offensive weapons are just too much for the patient, poised defensive game of the Rangers. My brain can see the logic in that, yet my heart says that all those so called experts can go stick it.
Here's how I think the Rangers can topple the mighty Penguins…
- Steal Game 1: The Penguins have won 10 straight on home ice, including 2 playoff games against the Senators. The Rangers needs to dictate the pace of the series right from the get go. All that momentum from smashing through the Senators has been sitting idle for over a week, the Rangers have been sitting around idle as well.
If the Rangers can shake off their rust first and come right at the Penguins tomorrow night they can set the tone of the entire series and put a nagging nugget of doubt in the opposing players. Winning Game 1 in Pittsburgh is a big key.
- Stay out of the damn box! As I eluded to back in the "Pick Your Poison" blog one of the keys I harped on was that the Rangers would need to be as disciplined as they ever been against the Penguins. The Rangers tempted fate way too many times in the first round against the Devils. Too many men on the ice penalties and brain lapses as when Fedor Tyutin closed his hand around the puck, they just can't happen in the playoffs.
Game swings are just too important to just hand the opposing team countless power plays. Especially this particular team who went 6 for 23 on the power play in the first round.
- Dominating the Physical Play: The Rangers did go 5-3 against the Penguins in the regular season, but we all know regular season records don’t always carry over the post season. But, what we can take from the regular season is a certain game on March 18th where the Rangers beat the Penguins 5-2. The Rangers were in the midst of a slide after losing 2 bad games to the Panthers and Tampa Bay. It was pivotal game because the Rangers were still seeking the playoffs in a tight race.
This was an ugly game from what I remember, many defensive errors committed by both teams. But, what was important was that the Rangers beat the Penguins that game by taking the body. Over and over again the hit any Penguin player within sight. The forecheck was on full blast that night and the Penguins didn't know how to react.
Those feisty Penguins forwards can't score if they are stuck chasing and battling for the puck in their own zone. Big key for the Rangers right here in this series… dominate the boards Clubber Lang style. No time for no jibba jabba!
- Henrik Lundqvist: The three time Vezina nominee completely frustrated the Devils’ shooters in that 5 game series. Seemed like the only way to beat him was to deflect the puck off a Ranger player. As phenomenal as Lundqvist was in the first round, he will need to raise it up a few notches in this series.
Stopping John Madden on a penalty shot is one thing, stopping Sidney Crosby or Malkin, or throw in a bunch of other names is something entirely different. I'm thinking of the Foo Fighters' song "Times like these" as I am typing this; it's time like these that define a player. Can Lundqvist rise to what might be his biggest challenge of his career? This right here is what legends are made of, this series can define Henrik Lundqvist's legacy.
For the Rangers to beat the Penguins, Henrik Lundqvist will need to be simply legendary.
- The Avery Factor: Sean Avery can score goals, draw penalties and get under opposing players' skin. He'll need to be on point on all three of those attributes in this series. The Penguins will be throwing back Jarkko Ruutu at the Rangers who is their version of an agitator. Who can be the bigger pest? I got my money on Sean Avery. But, how effective will he really be?
Avery was quite effective against the Devils as he completely threw the very playoff savvy Martin Brodeur off his game. What can he do to a young, and I say still untested Marc-Andre Fluery?
Here's to hoping Fluery refuses to shake Avery's hand at the end of this series.
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Of course there are so many other factors going into this series. Can Chris Drury remain true to his clutch reputation? He had a big game winning goal in the last series but was quiet in the first three games. Wild cards like Nigel Dawes, Callahan and Sjostrom. Will Colton Orr get ice time to counter big bad Georges Laraque? If Jagr does get completely stifled by Hal Gill, can his line mates Dubinsky and Straka take advantage?
I can go on here all day. We'll just have to wait and see what happens, won't we? One advantage I do say the Ranger clearly has is experience. Guys like Shanahan, Jagr, Drury and Gomez have seen it all before and if things don't go their way they know exactly how to adapt. The Rangers are also very well coached, we all second guessed Tom Renney back in December and January but Renney's patience and line tinkering paid off as the Rangers came alive after the All Star break.
Prediction:
Rangers in 6
That's right, you read that right. My brain may say Penguins in 7, but I am going with my heart. Put that in your pipe and smoke it Barry Melrose.
Rangers have played the Penguins 4 times in the playoffs and have lost each and every time. 1989, 1991, 1992 and 1996, all didn't go the Rangers' way. I think this time will be different.
Marc-Andre Fluery had a 1.26 GAA in the first round; we'll put that to the test!
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