For the second time in three seasons, the Rangers will play for the Eastern Conference crown. Two years ago, an overachieving (and let’s face it, flawed) team made the best of their three lines and two defensive pairings before getting eliminated in the ECF. This time around, despite playing seven games in both series prior, the Rangers roll four lines and three pairings without fear. They were a trendy pick to win the Cup at the beginning of the year, and were a trendy pick to come out of the East when April rolled around.
Montreal is unlike either opponent the Rangers have faced these playoffs. They are deep, skilled, and have fantastic defense/goaltending. They are built just like the Rangers. Suit wrote a preview of the series, and you should definitely be reading that. Justin also scouted out Carey Price, and the results are not favorable for the Rangers. This is going to be a dogfight.
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Another series, another Game Seven. Do we expect anything else at this point? This time around, the Rangers roared back after trailing 3-1 in the series to force this Game Seven in Pittsburgh, so at least the scenario has changed this series.
Justin did an entire breakdown of this series, and it’s great reading if you haven’t done so already. The Rangers made me look smart when I said that if they win Game Five, they will win Game Six and send it back to Pittsburgh. Make me look even smarter when I said the Rangers are a great matchup against the Pens, and win this too to complete the comeback.
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On Friday night, the Rangers played their most complete game of the playoffs since their Game One victory over the Flyers in the last round. They sent a message with their 5-1 victory, but the Penguins received that message loud and clear. You can bet your life savings that they won’t allow that to happen again. But the Rangers are playing desperate hockey, so anything can happen. One game, one period, one shift at a time, and send it back to Pittsburgh.
Justin did an entire breakdown of this series, and it’s great reading if you haven’t done so already. The Rangers will need to find a way to win. I said if they win Game Five, then they will win Game Six and send it back to Pittsburgh. Let’s make me look smart.
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Another night, another big game for the Rangers. This time, it’s win or go home. Well, it’s win and come home too, but you know what I mean. The Rangers have been thoroughly thrashed for two of the past three games, and had the worst luck ever conceived by man for that other one (Game Three). If they play like they did in Games One and Three, they have a shot. If they play like they did in Games Two and Four, they are done.
Justin did an entire breakdown of this series, and it’s great reading if you haven’t done so already. The Rangers will need to find a way to win. I think if they win tonight, they will also win Game Six and send it back to Pittsburgh for a Game Seven. That’s a big IF though.
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The Rangers are in what amounts to a must-win situation tonight, as they look to even the series at home. Alain Vigneault has been mum and a bit coy on the situation, but the Rangers appear to be getting Chris Kreider back tonight, which will inject some more life and speed into a lineup that sorely needs it.
Justin did an entire breakdown of this series, and it’s great reading if you haven’t done so already. The Rangers will need to get some legs under them, as they appeared gassed and completely unable to keep up with the fresher Penguins in the previous two games. They finally had an off day, so that should help
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For some inexplicable reason, the Rangers and Penguins are playing a back-to-back, and Game Three is tonight less than 24 hours after Game Two ended in Pittsburgh. The Penguins took Game Two in dominating fashion to even the series, but the Rangers came out victors by splitting the two games in Pittsburgh.
Justin did an entire breakdown of this series, and it’s great reading if you haven’t done so already. The Rangers will need to get some legs under them, as they appeared gassed and completely unable to keep up with the fresher Penguins. The schedule sure isn’t helping, but that’s not an excuse.
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Photo: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
The Rangers scored twice in overtime on Friday night to take a 1-0 series lead, and stole home-ice advantage in the process. The Penguins were exploited twice for abandoning the slot and paid the prices. The Rangers were exploited twice for not picking up the trailer at the blue line. Both teams will make adjustments tonight. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were quiet on Friday, but that won’t last for long either.
Justin did an entire breakdown of this series, and it’s great reading if you haven’t done so already. This series will be won with special teams, but the Rangers –believe it or not– held the advantage at even strength during the regular season. If they can stay out of the box and exploit the fairly weak Pittsburgh defense and goaltending, as they did in Game One, they have a solid chance of coming home with a 2-0 series lead.
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Two pretty important players. (Photo: Gregory Shamus/NHLI via Getty Images)
After ousting the Flyers in seven games on Wednesday, the Rangers are now in Pittsburgh to kick off the Metropolitan Division Finals against the Penguins. Many consider Pittsburgh to be the second best team in the Eastern Conference behind the Boston Bruins. The Penguins are certainly much better than the Flyers, but they are not without their flaws.
Justin did an entire breakdown of this series, and it’s great reading if you haven’t done so already. This series will be won with special teams, but the Rangers –believe it or not– held the advantage at even strength during the regular season. If they can stay out of the box and exploit the fairly weak Pittsburgh defense and goaltending, the Rangers have as good a chance as any.
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Need something from you big guy. (Scott Levy/Getty Images)
We all knew the narratives heading into this series. We all knew that the Flyers surged at the end of the season. But on paper, this series should not have gone seven games. But that’s why they play the games, and now it’s one game. The previous six don’t matter.
The Rangers need their big guns to play like their big guns. Rick Nash needs to be a force. Martin St. Louis needs to channel his play from the first five games, same with Derek Stepan. Benoit Pouliot really needs to stop taking stupid penalties. Henrik Lundqvist needs to make big saves.
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End it tonight please. (Photo: Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports)
The Rangers are in Philly tonight to hopefully end this series in six games and win a date with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the next round. Philly won’t go down without a fight, and they have shown more desperation when trailing in this series. New York is going to need to buck this trend of losing games when up in the series, and tonight is a perfect opportunity to do just that.
For a complete preview of this series, including the systems Craig Berube has the Flyers playing, check out this post by Suit. Don’t forget that Justin wrote a post on Steve Mason’s goaltending style.
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