Pitt It Is…
Well thanks Washington! Way to go Boston! The help the Rangers needed to get home ice or a second round match up against Montreal never came to fruition. Instead, it’s Sidney Crosby and the Penguins the Rangers will be facing in the second round.
Folks, I’ll be honest with you, this is the one match-up I did not want for the Rangers. At least not until the Eastern Conference Finals. The Pens handled Ottawa in round one. Granted it was Ottawa, but it’s still impressive.
The Rangers are going to have to deal with the run and gun offense of the Pens and rely on the King to stop Sid and Malkin. Also, Jagr is going to have to deal with the Boo-Birds, like Steve touched on in the podcast.
It is going to be an interesting match-up, one I’m sure the league is happy about. The Rangers can win of course…the question is, will they?
Let us know what you think about the series in the comment section below.
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Tags: Eric Rothman
13 Responses
adampasz April 23rd at 1:03 pm
This match-up scares me too. But let’s face it… the Rangers were going to have to beat Pitt at some point. Might as well get it over with while they’re well-rested.
The first 2 games will be critical. If they can win one of the first two, I’ll say Rangers in 6. If not… well, I don’t really want to think about that…
Michael April 23rd at 1:56 pm
Agreed, the Rangers absolutely have to split in Pittsburgh because I’m confident the Pens are gonna win one in New York.
Two quick predictions: Rangers in 7, or Pittsburgh in 6. The first one if we take one of the first two at the Igloo, the second if the Penguins win both games.
I can make two predictions, right? I hate to say it, but if I had to go with one, I think PIT in 6 is the more likely of the two..
Michael April 23rd at 1:58 pm
Oh, and I don’t wanna hear it for what I just said. I’m a Rangers fan, of course, but I’m also a realist and am looking at this series from a neutral point of view when making predictions.
Don’t even give me that I’m not a true Rangers fan because I think the Penguins could very well win this series. I just don’t wanna hear it.
Inferno April 23rd at 2:49 pm
The key to this series, IMHO, is Avery. If he can get under their skins like he did against Atlanta and New Jersey, I think the Rangers take this series in 6 games. If he can get them so focused on him, and get their goalie thinking about him every single shift he is out there, then I think we have a huge advantage in this series. On the other hand, if they play like the Sabres did, and just completely ignore the guy, and go about their business, I think the Pens wrap this up easily in 5. So there is my prediction, either Rangers in 6, or Pens in 5, depending on how Sean Avery is handled by the Pens.
Rob S April 23rd at 2:51 pm
Sean Avery will take a dump in Fluery’s crease. That’s the only thing I can guarantee at this point.
Michael April 23rd at 3:59 pm
I can’t wait to see the Avery/Roberts and Avery/Ruutu confrontations..you’re spot-on though Inferno, Avery is the X-factor in this series.
adampasz April 23rd at 11:21 pm
Avery is a key.
Jagr is also a key. I’m not sure what to make of all this discussion about him being booed in Pitt. I’m not up on the history between Jagr & Pitt., but I can’t imagine Garden fans ever booing a player who played on the team for a decade, scored hundreds of goals, and helped bring home 2 cups. I’m not sure if the booing talk is just media static generated by the Rangers as a distraction, but I expect the booing will be louder than ever on Friday.
Henrik is also a key. He needs to play like he played the 3rd period against the Devils in game 5. The way to beat Pitt. is to break down their confidence and make them question themselves. A few stellar saves can do that.
Michael April 23rd at 11:30 pm
http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/BeautySecrets/story?id=4704620&page=1
Avery is the man. I wonder if he’s trying to get closer with LC?
francesco April 24th at 12:31 am
hi guys,
here in Vicenza Italy,we are well ready to see game one. friday night at 1:00 am. i cant tell you how this game its gonna be, i saw the peng play vs the rangers 3 o 4 time this year, and i wasnt so impress only last game in the regular seson, the PENG play very well. EVERYBODY ARE SCARED BY THIS PENGS?? ARE THEY PLAY SO STRONG VS US?? ARE YOU SURE?
im confident the rangers are play very well right now, as steave say a couple of weeks ago..this team play better vs a strong team, that vs a “easy” team.
i will follow the game with you …on the blog and on my TV screen.
lest go rangers. and guys letgo..like this. you rocks!
adampasz April 24th at 12:33 am
Inferno, awesome summary on your blog. Thanks for writing that up. I’m calling heads too.
Travis April 24th at 12:16 pm
My general prediction….The Penguins are a better offensive team and could crush us if we make some serious mistakes. The Rangers are ready for the Penguin offense and will use their experience, their defensive game, and Henrik to win this series. I expect Avery to play a huge role too. If you want chat up the Rangers with me here: http://iamaranger.rangers.nhl.com/TrueToBlue22
Inferno April 24th at 6:20 pm
Thanks adampasz!
scummy April 24th at 8:42 pm
Avery and Crosby have somewhat of a past… they’ve jawed at eachother before I believe. Crosby though may be a bit too easy, I think Malkin is more of a target Avery could harass effectively. Plus Avery needs to give Fluery the business. Although I feel he’s not gonna be all that much of a factor…
Jagr needs to be the way he was in NJ and take control. Also, Marty Straka is gonna be getting booed too. If the two of them can feed off eachother and ignore the crowd, I think this could be a fairly short series for the Rangers.
Hank needs to be on his game and the D needs to be tight. There are so many factors here that its actually quite hard to call from either perspective.
I personally believe the Rangers have so much more depth that they have the edge. I agree with the majority though that the Rangers ABSOLUTLEY must win in Pit. If we can take the one of the games in Pit rangers in 6 or seven. If we can sweep the first two I wouldnt be shocked if we swept the series. If we win none in Pit I feel pretty strong we can still win, but it’ll be close to impossible. Its gonna be a hell of a series, no doubt in my mind.