Penguins (2) vs. Rangers (5) Series Preview

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This is the series most likely to be referred to as "the closest series in the second round." Both the Pens and Rangers finished the regular season on fire, both of them breezed through the first round, and they've already played each other eight times this year. I think it's fair to say that neither team will find this match-up as easy as their first rounder.

And we've got subplots, too! In addition to being division rivals, we've got Jaromir Jagr playing against Pittsburgh in what might be his last season and thus, last chance to take a team of his own to a cup. The Rangers took 5 of the eight regular season games from the Pens this year, but two of their wins went to overtime. This one really breaks down to the classic offense vs. defense battle.

Offense: I don't need to tell you about the Penguins offense, but I'm going to do it anyways. You'd be hard pressed to find a team with two better lines than the Crosby/Hossa/Dupuis line and the Malkin/Sykora/Malone line (which was probably the best in the NHL after Crosby's injury). Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby both did a great job moving the puck around in the first round with five and six assists apiece. Even long-time playoff goat Marian Hossa had a solid first round with a goal, four assists, and a ton of shots. So generating offense isn't likely to be the Penguins problem.

As for the Rangers, I know they have other players and it's going to seem like it's the Pens' fan in me saying this, but a lot of this series hinges on Jaromir Jagr. He came alive at the end of the New Jersey series, tallying all eight of his points in the last three games of the series and in the finale, where he picked up a goal and two assists, he honestly looked like the Jagr I remember seeing growing up, if a step or two slower. Scott Gomez had a huge first round, scoring three times against New Jersey. Still, the Rangers are going to need great series out of everyone to match the Pens' firepower. Advantage: Penguins.

Defense: As a Penguin fan, I'm contractually obligated to point out to you that the Penguins are a much better defensive team than you think. I'm rehashing things I'm sure you've heard by now, but Sergei Gonchar has played good defense this year and somehow turned Brooks Orpik into a near acceptable blue liner. The Hal Gill trade, which seemed inexplicable at the time, has worked out well. Like the rest of the team, the Pens' defense is playing much better now than they were earlier in the year. Still, Ryan Whitney has been mostly terrible when not on the power play and there's a lot of playoff inexperience here.

Still, it's not like the Rangers are slouches on defense. Their defensive corps (Paul Mara, Michal Rozsival, Marc Staal, Daniel Girardi and Fedor Tyutin) is a solid, if unspectacular group. The real question in this series is how "solid if unspectacular" matches up with Crosby, Malkin, and company. It's worth noting that the Rangers third and fourth lines (guys like Dubinsky, Callahan, and company) match up much better than Ottawa does with the Penguins as checking lines. The Penguins certainly have the advantage of not playing against their offense but the potential for total defensive meltdown seems less likely with the Rangers' group than with the Penguins, so we're going to call it Advantage: Even.

Goaltending: OK, who would you want in net in the playoffs, a guy they call "King Henrik" or a guy they call "The Flower?" Yeah, that's what I thought. Marc-Andre Fleury has improved exponentially over the guy that looked lost against Ottawa in the first round last year and he's been nearly unbeatable since his return from a high ankle sprain. Still, in the playoffs goaltending is all about who can get hot and steal a game or two for his team. Henrik Lundqvist is much more likely to be that guy. In fact, Lundqvist frustrating the Pens' young scorers early on would probably be the best tone for the Rangers to set in this series. Advantage: Rangers

Other: Tom Renney vs. Michel Therrien is the classic "tactician vs. motivator" matchup. This is the playoffs, which means the advantage goes to Renney. On special teams, I think the Penguins' impressive power play outweighs the Rangers' better penalty kill, if only because the regular season rankings don't account for the addition of Hossa on either side. There's also the Sean Avery factor. There's a 50% chance that he annoys a Penguin into doing something incredibly stupid and damaging to their chances, but there's an 80% chance that if he does that, Gary Roberts will eat his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti. We'll just go ahead and call this category Advantage: Even.

Prediction: I don't think playoff series come more evenly matched than this. In the end, though, there's just too much talent on the Penguins' side for me to pick against them. They may be young, but they've saved their best hockey for the end of the season. Penguins in six.