As the regular season has come to an end, Last Word On Sports analyzes every playoff series. In the first installment, we take a look at the matchups in five categories: Offense, defense, goaltending, coaching and special teams. We also run down the players to look out for and give our final assessment on how the series will pan out. In the second portion, we will analyze what went down in the series, how the matchups led to the outcome and cover all important storylines.
The New York Rangers will await the winner of the Washington Capitals/New York Islanders series, as they have defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins to move on to the second round of the playoffs. Despite the series being relatively short, the games were extremely close, as each game was won by a single goal. Here is our series recap of Rangers versus Penguins.
Game 1: The Rangers opened the scoring on a goal by Derrick Brassard just 28 seconds into the game. They would double the lead later in the period on a powerplay goal by Ryan McDonagh. The Penguins would cut the lead in half in the second period from Blake Comeau’s goal, but that’s as close as they would come. The Rangers won the series opener while outshooting Pittsburgh 38-25, while holding Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to a combined 3 shots.
Game 2: New York would open the scoring again in Game 2, but the Penguins took over in the second period. Brandon Sutter got Pittsburgh on the board with a powerplay goal, and then Crosby scored a couple to put then Pens up 3-1. (Those 2 goals from Crosby would also be enough to surpass his total from the 2014 post season). Each team would trade goals in the first half of the third period, and the Rangers scored a late one with 6 seconds remaining, but it was too little too late, as the Penguins took one in New York to tie the series.
Game 3: With the series shifting to Pittsburgh, the Penguins would try to carry over their success from Game 2, and take the series lead at home. That was not the case, instead this game was very reminiscent of Game 1. The Rangers took a 2-0 lead, the Penguins would get one back, and the Rangers win the game 2-1. Patric Hornqvist had a solid game, scoring Pittsburgh’s only goal, while also having 6 shots and 7 hits.
Game 4: Hornqvist was good again in Game 4, scoring Pittsburgh’s first opening goal of the series. Brassard would tie the game late in the second period, and after a scoreless third, this game went to overtime. The Penguins couldn’t get anything going in the extra frame, and Kevin Hayes was able to tuck in the loose puck for the winner.
Game 5: After winning both games in Pittsburgh, the Rangers could end the series with a win on home ice. They scored the opener with a powerplay goal from Derek Stepan within the first 5 minutes of the game. The Penguins would get some puck luck late in the second, when the puck went off Nick Spaling and in to tie the game. Another scoreless third period meant for the second consecutive game, these teams were headed to overtime. The Penguins had a number of opportunities, as they outshot New York 38-36, but Henrik Lundqvist stood tall. Marc-Andre Fleury was good as well, but it was him that let in the final goal to Carl Hagelin, which ended the series.
STORYLINES OF THE SERIES
Malkin’s Disappearance
For a team built around two superstars, the Penguins need both Crosby and Malkin to produce for the team to be successful. Crosby collected 4 points in his 5 games, which isn’t spectacular, but it was still more than what any other Penguin produced. Malkin on the other hand, was held pointless all series. He didn’t look like his normal self out there, and his inability to generate offence against the Rangers limited his team’s chances of winning.
Goaltending Duel
Normally Fleury is a focal point of attention when it comes to any series involving the Penguins, but he might have actually been his team’s best player this series. He held his team in every game, which hasn’t always been the case in the last few years. In all four of his team’s losses, they only managed to score 1 goal, and Fleury can’t be expected to shutout the Rangers on that many occasions. On the flip side, the Penguins couldn’t find the back of the net as often as they needed to because of the play of Lundqvist. He was brilliant as usual, and playing behind the better team made it easier for him to win the goaltending duel.
Depth is Key
To do well in the playoffs, you need to have depth, and that’s what the Penguins lacked. Their bottom six forward group isn’t quite as good as it needs to be, especially when the top six starts to struggle. The biggest issue though was all the injuries to the defence. Being without a few regulars, most notably Kris Letang, left the team with a patch-work defence that did all they could in attempting to shut down one of the highest scoring teams in the league.
Depth is exactly what the Rangers have. Their depth has been a huge part of their success all year, and it’s carried into the playoffs as well. When the games went to overtime, it wasn’t Rick Nash or Martin St. Louis scoring the goals, it was Hayes and Hagelin. Their depth was a big factor in defeating the Penguins, and will again be counted on to help the Rangers advance further into the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Series Predictions From Our Hockey Department:
Brandon Altomonte: Rangers in 5 (2 of 2 correct)
Shawn Wilken: Rangers in 5 (2 of 2 correct)
Ben Kerr: Rangers in 5 (2 of 2 correct)
Dave Gove: Rangers in 5 (2 of 2 correct)
Charlie Clarke: Rangers in 5 (2 of 2 correct)
Cristiano Simonetta: Rangers in 5 (2 of 2 correct)
Markus Meyer: Rangers in 4 (1 of 2 correct)
Griffin Schroeder: Rangers in 5 (2 of 2 correct)
David Stevenson: Rangers in 5 (2 of 2 correct)
Ken Hill: Rangers in 6 (1 of 2 correct)
Tyler Shea: Penguins in 7 (0 of 2 correct)
