So we meet again. (Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press)
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! No, not Christmas – the NHL postseason is upon us and that means it’s time to preview the upcoming first round series between the Rangers and the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Rangers have met the penguins in the playoffs more times in recent memory than any other team save the Caps, so this is sure to be a heated series. While the playoffs have a tendency to be unpredictable the Penguins have been one of the hottest teams in the league of the past several months, making this a particularly difficult matchup. Nonetheless, the Rangers do have their strengths, so let’s get down to it.
Forwards
Although the Penguins perhaps have stronger individual players up front (Sidney Crosby and Phil Kessel come to mind), the Rangers certainly have the Penguins beat when it comer to forward depth. Mats Zuccarello and Viktor Stalberg both sat out the last game of the season but should be good to go for the playoffs, and with those two players back in the lineup the Rangers four lines are more or less set.
We’ve advocated for Oscar Lindberg being in the lineup in the past, but even with him sitting and Tanner Glass on the fourth line the Rangers can still roll four solid lines. The only real concern is matching up the fourth line against Pittsburgh’s top guys, but given the Rangers’ depth they shouldn’t have to play too much time against Crosby and co, given the way ice time is distributed and the defensively responsible members of each of the other three lines.
On the other side of things the Rangers should be on the look out for not only Crosby but also the Penguins second line, where Nick Bonino and Phil Kessel have found chemistry with the speedy ex-Ranger Carl Hagelin. Obviously this line was a real killer the last time these two teams met in the regular season, but they’ve been consistently hot and one of the reasons the Penguins have been so good lately.
As far as depth players go Rangers fans should also be aware of guys like Tom Kuhnhackl and Conor Sheary, depth guys whose skill and speed might prove tricky for the Rangers to handle, especially given how slow and old the Rangers’ defensive corps has looked at times this season.
Defense
Speaking of defensive matchups, it’s most definitely worth noting that the Penguins may be without Olli Maata, while the Rangers are missing Ryan McDonagh and potentially Dan Girardi. For the Penguins this means that guys like Trevor Daley and Justin Schultz, who’s turned out to be a relatively solid acquisition for Pittsburgh, are that much more important while for the Rangers it means high expectations for youngsters Brady Skjei and Dylan McIlrath.
Both the Rangers and the Penguins have elite puck moving defensemen in Keith Yandle and Kris Letang, respectively, so it should be a fun series to watch if you’re a fan of clean breakout passes and fancy set up plays on the man-advantage. Frankly I’m not sure who to give the advantage to with regards to the two teams’ defensive groups given each teams’ injury situations, but that might be the homer in me. We know the Rangers d-men have struggled this year at times in a big way, but if everybody’s having a good night and the Penguins are without Maata I really don’t know what to expect.
Coaching
As far as coaching goes again, I’m really not sure what to expect. Alain Vigneault has gotten the Rangers deep in the playoffs during his tenure as Rangers head coach but has made some questionable decisions throughout this past season. Mike Sullivan has coached the hottest team in the East since the new year, and it doesn’t seem like the Penguins are slowing down any time soon.
but as Becky pointed out on our most recent podcast, that may have to do more with the individual performances of certain players than the coach. In any event, we’ll have full systems previews up later today, which should give more insight into the subtleties and differences between the two coaches than I’m equipped to offer.
Goaltending
Between the pipes this one shouldn’t be a question. The Rangers have the best goaltender of the past generation on their side, and although Marc-Andre Fleury has had an exceptional season, he’s currently out with a concussion and may not make it into the first round of the playoffs. That leaves Matt Murray, a solid goalie prospect who is also potentially injured, and Jeff Zatkoff.
Given how hot the Penguins have been lately, facing Zatkoff would be a major boon for the Rangers, because although Lundqvist is unquestionably better than Fleury, when the latter is having a good game he’s well documented as having the ability to shut a game down completely for his team. The Rangers have the edge here, but whether the Rangers are playing a veritable NHL started or a backup may have a significant impact on the outcome of this series.
This series could prove to be a tricky one for the Rangers given the Penguins’ high scoring, possession heavy game of late. A lot of things would have to go right for the Rangers to win it, including an outstanding performance from the King himself. Still, if there’s one thing we know about the playoffs it’s that anything can happen, and if the Rangers play to their strengths this series could be closer than the conventional wisdom might suggest. We’ll just have to wait and see.
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