 |
POWER
PLAY |
21ST
- 16.5 |
PENALTY
KILL |
7TH
- 84.6 |
FORWARDS |
JAROMIR
JAGR |
25-46-71
(+8) |
SCOTT
GOMEZ |
16-54-70
(+3) |
CHRIS
DRURY |
25-33-58
(-3) |
DEFENSEMEN |
MICHAL
ROZSIVAL |
13-25-38
(0) |
DANIEL
GIRARDI |
10-18-28
(0) |
FEDOR
TYUTIN |
5-15-20
(+5) |
GOALTENDERS |
HENRIK
LUNDQVIST |
37-24-10
(10 SO)
2.23 GA
.912 PCT |
|
STEPHEN
VALIQUETTE |
5-3-3
(2 SO)
GA2.19
.916 PCT |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
Ottawa
vs Pittsburgh |
|
|
SCHEDULE |
| 1 |
APR.
25 |
NY
RANGERS 4 - PITTSBURGH 5 |
SEED
5 |
2 |
APR.
27 |
NY
RANGERS 0 PITTSBURGH 2 |
SEED
2 |
42-27-16
(97) |
3 |
APR.
29 |
PITTSBURGH
5 - NY RANGERS 3 |
47-27-8
(102) |
| |
4 |
MAY
1 |
PITTSBURGH
0 - NY RANGERS 3 |
|
| |
5 |
MAY
4 |
NY
RANGERS 2 - PITTSBURGH 3
(OT) |
|
| |
6 |
MAY
5 |
PITTSBURGH
at NY RANGERS |
|
| |
7 |
MAY
7 |
NY
RANGERS at PITTSBURGH |
|
|
Pittsburgh
Wins Series 4-1 |
|
SERIES
PREVIEW |
| |
New
York Rangers
For the second year in a row the Rangers have advanced
to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs following
a convincing first round series win. This year the Devils
were the victim of the Rangers’ late season push to the
postseason.
Last year’s free agent shopping cart was filled with Scott
Gomez and Chris Drury. Both players were slow to get with
the defensive program of head coach Tom Renney but both
adapted and both fulfilled the expectations the organization
had for them. Drury and Gomez stepped up in the opening
round with goals, assists and solid back-checking to defeat
the Devils.
As importantly, the Rangers now have Jaromir Jagr with
a regained scorer’s touch and who is seeing the ice better
than he has all season. Jagr picked up eight points on
two goals in the first round.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Due to the fact Sidney Crosby is on the team the Penguins
are the NHL’s media darlings. This year they played well
enough to win the Eastern Conference despite the fact
Crosby missed a large portion of the season. The reason
they did so well is the fine play of Evgeni Malkin. Malkin
might be the best player in the league even though he
is overshadowed in the media by Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin.
Pittsburgh’s improvement from last year to this year was
shown by their performance against the Ottawa Senators.
Last season the Senators knocked them out of the playoffs
and this year the Penguins swept them. The next challenge
for this team is rebounding from a club-record nine games
off between playoff games.
Pittsburgh gave up some depth to acquire Marian Hossa
from Atlanta for this playoff run, so the team is going
to count on their top players in this round. If they get
hit by injuries they could prove to be a little thin.
Goal
Henrik Lundqvist is in net for the Rangers, to the near
exclusion of any other netminder in the organization.
Having broken franchise records for starts in a season
Lundqvist is now rested from the opening round and seems
ready to stand in for the next seven games should they
be needed. The candidate for the Vezina Trophy this year
has been solid in net and spectacular when needed. The
sophomore slump appears behind Lundqvist and can win this
series if the Rangers need it.
No one knows how Marc-Andre Fleury can handle a long playoff
run. Pittsburgh coach Michel Therrien has been known to
pull the young goaltender on occasion, so Fleury feels
the need to be on top of his game all the time. Should
Fleury falter the backup is Ty Conklin. Conklin saved
first place for the Penguins with his fine play during
the regular season when Fleury was injured.
Defense
Youth on the blueline is an issue for the Rangers heading
into the series with the Penguins. The defense this year
has been suspect at times but has improved dramatically
over the final weeks of the season and stiffened against
New Jersey.
For the first round the Rangers were anchored on the blueline
by Dan Girardi, Michal Rozsival and Fedor Tyutin. All
three were on the plus side of the ledger sheet and all
contributed big hits, solid “D” and contributed seven
points between them on six assists and one goal. Throw
in Marc Staal’s game-winner in the series clinching game
and the defense did their job.
Sergei Gonchar played over 25 minutes per game during
the first round and will probably receive the same share
of time against the Rangers. One player who the Pens will
try to match up is Hal Gill against Jaromir Jagr. Gill
is notorious for his ability to limit Jagr’s chances.
The Penguins have a nice mix on the blueline of skill
and physical play. Ryan Whitney, Gonchar and Kristopher
Letang are known for their skating while Gill, Brooks
Orpik and Rob Scuderi are more “traditional” defenders.
Daryl Sydor has been held in reserve and Mark Easton remains
on the injured reserve list.
Offense
Crosby, Malkin, Hossa, you get the idea, there are some
big scorers on the Penguins roster and the Rangers will
need to account for them. Once you get past that group
of players you will find there are some other good players
and some players who fill a role. Gary Roberts has missed
the last two games due to injury, but had two goals in
his first game of the season. The elder statesman forward
will be a welcome addition if he can get back in the lineup.
Ryan Malone is an excellent forward who has something
to prove in his unrestricted free agency playoff. Jarkko
Ruutu is a supreme pest, Georges Laracque is a fighter
with some hands. Petr Sykora is a dangerous sniper who
plays well with Malkin, Jordan Staal and Pascual Dupuis
are excellent penalty-killers while Tyler Kennedy, Maxime
Talbot and Adam Hall are called on for depth.
Sure there is Jagr, Gomez and Drury. But the likes of
Brandon Dubinsky and Martin Straka need to be accounted
for in defending against the Rangers this year. Dubinsky
collected three goals and six points against the Devils
and was near the puck every time he stepped on the ice.
And do not overlook Sean Avery for whom the NHL created
a new unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after his antics
in the Devils’ series. Avery did not do much more than
pick up three goals and two assists for five points. He
was a plus-3 and had only six minutes in penalties.
With the agitator kicking in on the offense the Rangers
have a depth and breadth to their forward lines Blueshirts
fans have not seen in quite some time.
Lurking in the score sheet is Brendan Shanahan who has
a goal and four points in the first round.
Predictions:
(Lafrado) Rangers win series 4-2 and advance to conference
finals.
(Schettino) The Rangers are the perfect playoff
team. They have solid netminding, outstanding role players,
a coach who has installed a solid system and clutch scorers.
Pittsburgh impressed against Ottawa but they are untested
over the long run. Can Fleury backstop a team over a few
weeks instead of a few games? Can Crosby, Sykora and Hossa
grind out a series against a tough-checking club? Is the
young defense capable of playing a disciplined game against
a pest like Avery and four lines of personnel?
People have questioned the mental toughness of the Penguins.
If those folks are correct the Rangers will move on. If
the Penguins have the mettle to fight through this team,
can get Lundqvist off his game and put points on the board
they have the ability to roar through the Rangers to the
next round.
|
|
| Game
1 |
NY
Rangers 4 - Pittsburgh 5 |
|
by Tom Schettino - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Pittsburgh
Leads Series 1-0 |
Pittsburgh,
PA - It was only fitting on a night filled with deflections the winning goal was registered when a shot banked in off a player’s leg. Nearly half of the game’s goals were scored off well-meaning but ill-fated defender’s legs.
There was nothing unique about Evgeni Malkin’s game-winner as a Sidney Crosby slap-shot deflected off Malkin’s shin pads past a dejected Henrik Lundqvist.
It was a surprising end for the Rangers who at one point appeared to have weathered a Penguins storm and came out the other side with a 3-0 lead. Pittsburgh controlled the play early in the game but Lundqvist was outstanding and held the Penguins scoreless.
The only first period goal was scored when Martin Straka banked a shot off Sergei Gonchar’s skates past Pittsburgh goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. In the past Penguins fans might have been delirious about the goal due to the fact Straka and assisters Jaromir Jagr and Michal Rozsival once skated for the locals.
Fortune seemed to have eyes only for the Rangers in this game when a disputed Chris Drury deflection was allowed to stand. Marc Staal took a shot from the point which appeared to lead Drury to hit the puck with his stick raised over the height of the crossbar. The officials on the ice called it a goal and the review team could not find the damning evidence needed to overturn the goal, so the score stood. The lead widened to three when Sean Avery blistered a shot past Fleury and seemingly the Rangers were on their way to an upset.
Pittsburgh had their own ideas about the outcome and they strung together two goals just 14 seconds apart to pull within a goal. Jarkko Ruutu broke Lundqvist when he banked a shot off Rozsival’s legs past the surprised goaltender. The second of the goals needed no fortune—just a wonderful pass from Crosby to Pascal Dupuis who beat Lundqvist cleanly.
Pittsburgh’s second two goal outburst put them in the lead. Marian Hossa tied the game when his pass/shot tipped off Scott Gomez and went past Lundqvist. Just forty seconds later a magnificent deke by Malkin led to a Petr Sykora goal. Malkin burst in on Lundqvist and slyly drew the netminder to him before he slid a pass over to Sykora who knocked the puck into a wide open goal.
Gomez and Jagr teamed up for the game’s next goal, one which would place the outcome in doubt until Malkin sealed the game. Jagr used his body as a shield against Gonchar and threw the puck to a wide-open Gomez who snapped one past Fleury for the temporary tying goal.
Game Notes
Pittsburgh’s Gary Roberts was unable to play due to his injury. The Penguins also went without Darryl Sydor who remained a healthy scratch as were Kris Beech and Jeff Taffe. New York is traveling with a contingent full of recalled AHLers and they all sat. Regulars Marek Malik, Jason Strudwick, Ryan Hollweg and Petr Prucha also did not play.
Straka was assessed a game misconduct at the conclusion of the game for complaining to the officials about his interference call which led to Malkin’s game-winner.
|
|
| Game
2 |
NY
Rangers 0 - Pittsburgh 2 |
|
by Tom Schettino - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Pittsburgh
Leads Series 2-0 |
Pittsburgh,
PA - The goal of tightening up the game and shutting down the Penguins vaunted attack in Game 2 was accomplished by the New York Rangers. Unfortunately they forgot to bring their offense along for the ride as they were blanked 2-0 and fell behind the Pens by the same margin in the second round of the playoffs.
New York's Henrik Lundqvist had a strong outing with 31 stops but Marc-Andre Fleury outdid him in Pittsburgh's net stopping all 26 shots directed at him. Fleury was outstanding in the first period as he held off a barrage of challenging shots by the Rangers who tried to take an early lead.
Unable to get the lead the Rangers fell behind in the second period when Jordan Staal made a deft move to put the Penguins up. Evgeni Malkin picked up a loose puck in the left face off circle and set Staal up for a shot. Staal caught the puck on his backhand, moved it up to his forehand and tucked it behind Lundqvist. Adam Hall ended the Rangers late try for a victory when he flicked a shot from behind his own blueline into the net vacated by Lundqvist for an extra attacker.
The only move in the lineup between the first and second games was the insertion of Petr Prucha in the Rangers lineup in place of Colton Orr.
The series will move to New York for Game 3 which will take place on Tuesday evening.
|
|
| Game
3 |
Pittsburgh
5 - NY Rangers 3 |
|
by Lou Lafrado - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Pittsburgh
Leads Series 3-0 |
New
York, NY - The season appears to be rapidly coming
to an end for the New York Rangers. Youth, speed and talent
for the Penguins are reigning supreme and the Rangers
have been unable to come up with answers.
On Tuesday night, the Penguins used a three-goal first
period to put the Rangers’ backs to the wall in the game
and eventually the series.
Trailing 3-1 after the opening period the Rangers showed
some mettle with Ryan Callahan and Jaromir Jagr picking
up goals to tie the score at three. But Evgeni Malkin
netted the game winner at 17:53 of the second period on
his second power play goal of the night.
Ryan Malone scored for the Penguins at 2:30 of the third
to seal the win and put a stranglehold on the series.
Youth and hunger have obviously faired better than older
and hungry. The Rangers’ defensive schemes and offensive
success against the New Jersey Devils has been ineffective
to say the least against the talented and more imaginative
Penguin roster.
The Rangers have been unable to solve the young duo of
Malkin and Sidney Crosby (2 assists) and now face elimination
on home ice Thursday night.
Contact the writer at lou.lafrado@prohockeynews.com.
|
|
| Game
4 |
Pittsburgh
0 - NY Rangers 3 |
|
by Lou Lafrado - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Pittsburgh
Leads Series 3-1 |
New
York, NY - The stranglehold is still solidly around
the Rangers necks but the grip was feeling less constricting
Thursday night as the Henirk Lunqvist backstopped the
Rangers to a shutout victory in Game 4 of this best-of-seven
series.
Jaromir Jagr got the game-winner in the second after rushing
the puck up the left side broke to the high slot and wristed
a shot that eluded Marc Andre Fluery for the 1-0 lead.
On the play Jagr was leveled and lay motionless for several
minutes before being helped to his skates.
Minutes later Evgeni Malkin was fed a perfect breakout
pass and he beat the Ranger defense down the middle of
the ice. Dan Girardi pushed Malkin from behind and as
a result Malkin drew a penalty shot for the Pens. On the
play, the puck appeared to cross the goal line prior to
the net coming off the pegs, but after further review
the goal was not awarded to Pittsburgh.
Instead of a tying goal the Pens were given the penalty
shot and Malkin inexplicably chose to skate in slowly
and wasted the opportunity with a weak shot on Lundqvist
who easily made the save.
Early in the third with only 44 seconds gone in the period
Brandon Dubinsky connected on the powerplay and gave the
Rangers some breathing room. Jagr added a powerplay goal
of his own with just seconds left in the game to make
the final 3-0.
On the night, Jagr had two goals and an assist and seemed
energized for what might have been final game at Madison
Square Garden in a Blueshirts' sweater. Whatever the future
holds Jagr did his part as did Lundqvist and the rest
of the Rangers. The team was especially strong on special
teams as they held the Penguins scoreless in four man
advantage situations while connecting twice on the power
play in seven chances.
Game 5 of the series is Sunday back in Pittsburgh.
Contact the writer at lou.lafrado@prohockeynews.com
|
|
| Game
5 |
NY
Rangers 2 - Pittsburgh 2 (OT) |
|
by Lou Lafrado - PROHOCKEYNEWS.COM |
Pittsburgh
Wins Series 4-1 |
Pittsburgh,
PA - With all of the youth that populates the
Penguins’ roster it was Marian Hossa who netted the final
goal in this series. It was Hossa’s second of the game
and came at the 7:10 mark of the overtime on a shot between
Hemrik Lunqvist’s pads.
The game was sent to the extra session after the Rangers staged a strong comeback in a hostile Pittsburgh arena. Early in the third period Lauri Korpikoski and Nigel Dawes connected at 2:03 and 3:25 respectively to knot the game at two and quiet an otherwise raucous Penguin crowd.
Hossa and Evgeni Malkin had built a 2-0 lead for the Pens in the second period and appeared to all but put away New York with less than eight minutes to play in the second.
Lundqvist was big in the third as he turned away all seven shots he faced. But in the overtime he was overworked and battled a 2:40 power play for the Pens before Hossa’ heroics ended the series and the Rangers’ season.
The Pens now move on to face their down state rivals the Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Flyers eliminated the Montreal Canadiens. This battle between the parent clubs means the Pennsylvania-based organizations will have series in both the NHL and the AHL as their top farm clubs are battling in the AHL's Eastern Division finals.
For the Rangers the series was a disappointment after scuttling the New Jersey Devils’ season. Now head coach Tom Renney and the front office will have to decide which direction the franchise will take next season.
The youngsters played well as exemplified by the likes of Nigel Dawes. The farm system is well stocked and the Rangers have a good future.
Contact the author at lou.lafrado@prohockeynews.com.
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
POWER
PLAY |
3RD
- 20.4 |
PENALTY
KILL |
22ND
- 81.0 |
FORWARDS |
EVGENI
MALKIIN |
47-59-106
(+16) |
SIDNEY
CROSBY |
24-48-72
(+18) |
MARIAN
HOSSA |
29-37-66
(-14) |
DEFENSEMEN |
SERGEI
GONCHAR |
12-53-65
(+13) |
RYAN
WHITNEY |
12-28-40
(-2) |
HAL
GILL |
3-21-24
(+6) |
GOALTENDERS |
MARC-ANDRE
FLEURY |
19-10-2
(4 SO)
2.33 GA
.921 PCT |
|
TY
CONKLIN |
18-8-5
(2 SO)
2.51 GA
.923 PCT |
|
|
|
