Rangers at Penguins
After getting all they could handle from one Keystone State representative, the New York Rangers turn their attention to the other when they visit the Pittsburgh Penguins for Game 1 of their Eastern Conference second-round series on Friday. Home-ice advantage proved pivotal for the Rangers, who went the distance in their first-round matchup and skated to a 2-1 triumph over Philadelphia in Game 7 at Madison Square Garden. New York will begin this series on the road, where it won a franchise-best 25 games during the regular season.
The Metropolitan Division-champion Penguins finished 12 points ahead of the second-place Rangers, but the rivals each posted a 2-1-1 mark in the season series. Pittsburgh has won all four playoff sets versus New York, including the most-recent meeting in 2008. The Penguins enter this series with a bit of a rest after dispatching upstart Columbus in six games.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBCSN, CBC, RDS
ABOUT THE RANGERS: Rick Nash scored a team-leading 26 goals during the regular season but added little offensive punch in New York's first-round series. The two-time Olympic gold-medalist and 40-goal scorer has just one tally in 19 postseason games with the Rangers. While Nash has struggled, linemates Martin St. Louis and Brad Richards shared the team lead with six points against the Flyers.
ABOUT THE PENGUINS: While Evgeni Malkin ended his nine-game postseason goal-scoring drought with a hat trick in the series clincher against the Blue Jackets, Sidney Crosby hasn't tallied in a career-high 11 consecutive playoff games - dating back to the team's second-round series versus Ottawa last year. The captain has recorded 65 points (21 goals, 44 assists) in 47 career contests against New York - including one tally and five assists in the four meetings this season. Crosby was named a Hart Trophy finalist for the fourth time in his career on Thursday, winning the prestigious honor in 2006-07.
OVERTIME
1. Pittsburgh went 5-for-14 on the power play against New York in the regular season and scored six times with the man advantage in its first-round series.
2. The Rangers failed to score a power-play goal in their last 21 opportunities in the first round.
3. New York has blocked an NHL-best 126 shots in the postseason.
SERIES