The NY Rangers and the Pittsburgh Penguins are playing Game 1 on the NHL playoffs schedule for Round 2 and the second round has now started and this matchup begins at 7 pm ET from Pitt and is streaming from the NBC Sports Network on TV from the NBCSN live extra website and now Sidney Crosby, Henrik Lundqvist and Brad Richards will try to get their teams a 1-0 series lead in the postseason.
The Rangers come into the series after winning Game 7 against the Philadelphia Flyers and now they will have to play again quickie after finishing that series on Wednesday, as they have the Penguins on Friday night before back to back games again on Sunday and Monday. The Rangers may be a bit tired after having to play so much in a short amount of time, but the Pens also had to play a long series and while theirs was just six games, they had a very hard series against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Penguins were heavily fared in that series as the second overall seed in the east, but they met a tough Blue Jackets squad that refused to give up in any game. Sidney Crosby struggled all series and didn't score, while the Pens and the Blue Jackets made comebacks when down in every game and nearly all of them ended 4-3. The final game saw the Pens get a hat trick from Evgeni Malkin and they team allowed the Jackets to come back and while they hung on, the team is not looking as strong as everyone though before the postseason.
Despite not scoring much in the playoffs so far, Malkin and Crosby are two of the best players in the game and the Rangers will need to shut them down for any chance at winning. The Penguins can score with the best of them and the Rangers really can't do that unless Brad Richards, Rick Nash and Martin St. Louis step up. All three players played well in the last series against the Flyers, but Nash didn't score a goal, while Richards had a strong first game and now St. Louis and the two stars will be expected to perform.
The final game against the Flyers was nerve wracking, but the rangers scored two beautifully placed goals and now they have some momentum after remaining undefeated at MSG in six Game 7 matchups all time. The team now has the chance to pull an upset in one of the first two games on the road before returning home and for any chance at winning the series and advancing to the eastern conference finals again, they will have to steal one at Pitt in these first two games, especially with the two days in a row games coming as well.
The Rangers will end up playing six games in nine days and as the only team to advance to the second round in each of the last three seasons, expectations will be building for fans. Henrik Lundqvist allowed one goal in the Game 7 matchup and he will be the key for the Rangers, as he can stop the Penguins as the last line of defense and if he can remain at his usual level of play, it gives the Rangers a true chance to make it to the Stanley Cup finals.