Rangers at Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins have seen their New York Rangers end their season in the playoffs in each of the last two years, but they will try to turn the tables on their Metropolitan Division rivals this time around. Both teams have myriad injury issues entering Game 1 of the best-of-seven series at Pittsburgh on Wednesday night.
The Penguins begin the postseason as the hottest team in the league, winning eight in a row and 14 of 15 before a meaningless loss in the regular-season finale. They have major concerns in net after goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury suffered his second concussion on March 31 and backup Matt Murray sustained a concussion on Saturday. The news is more positive for the Rangers, who will be without captain Ryan McDonagh (hand) at least for the series opener but saw fellow defenseman Dan Girardi and goaltender Henrik Lundqvist return to practice Tuesday. Although Pittsburgh won the season series 3-1-0, New York has won seven of the last eight meetings in the playoffs.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, USA, Sportsnet, TVAS2, MSG (New York), ROOT (Pittsburgh)
ABOUT THE RANGERS (46-27-9): Lundqvist left Monday's practice after not feeling well and stumbled down the stretch, giving up at least three goals in nine of his last 13 appearances, but he has been a nemesis for the Penguins. He has surrendered only four goals in winning his last four postseason starts in Pittsburgh and has the full confidence of his teammates, with defenseman Kevin Klein noting that "if you make a mistake, Hank is there to save you." While coach Alain Vigneault said there's a chance McDonagh has a shot to play at some point, Derek Stepan is the team's hottest scorer with 15 points in the last 10 games.
ABOUT THE PENGUINS (48-26-8): Fleury returned to practice but has yet to be cleared to play and Murray is day-to-day after the head-scratching decision to start him in the season finale, so Pittsburgh may be forced to go with Jeff Zatkoff, who has not started since Feb. 20. Captain Sidney Crosby overcame a slow start to spark the late-season surge with points in 20 of his last 21, including an eight-game streak entering the postseason. Kris Letang also has scored in his last eight games and hopes for the return of his defensive partner Olli Maatta, who is a game-time decision after missing the last nine contests.
OVERTIME
1. Crosby had three goals and an assist in four games versus the Rangers this season to give him 71 points in 55 games against them.
2. New York overcame a 3-1 series deficit to beat Pittsburgh in 2014 and ousted the Penguins in five games last year.
3. Pittsburgh killed off 22 straight power plays over its past six games.