Rangers at Penguins
The New York Rangers are in an eerily situation to two years ago, when they were on the brink of elimination as they headed to Pittsburgh for Game 5 of their playoff series. The Rangers wound up winning the final three games en route to the Stanley Cup final, a task they must repeat against the host Penguins beginning on Saturday afternoon.
Much like the matchup in 2013-14, New York's situation looks bleak following a pair of lopsided losses at home as Pittsburgh took a commanding 3-1 lead with a chance to close out the series at home. “You can’t think that because you’ve done it in the past you’re necessarily going to do it,” Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. “But you can believe a little bit." The Penguins manhandled New York at Madison Square Garden, winning the two games by a combined 8-1, and have won 17 of 20 contests dating to the regular season. "Overall, I think we have an opportunity to do something good and I think we have to step on it," Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang said.
TV: 3 p.m. ET, NBC, Sportsnet 360, TVAS
ABOUT THE PENGUINS: Evgeni Malkin expressed concern that he could upset the team's chemistry after he returned from an injury absence of more than a month in Pittsburgh's Game 2 loss, but any worries were allayed after his dominant performance in Thursday's 5-0 romp. Malkin scored a pair of goals and assisted on two others to tie a career high with four points and give him six over three games in the series. "Geno wants to win," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "He's a competitive guy. He cares about this team. And he knows he's a big part of this team having success. He's a self-driven guy. He wants to be on the ice. He wants the puck in the crucial situations."
ABOUT THE RANGERS: New York has surrendered eight unanswered goals after seizing a 1-0 lead in Game 3, but a bigger worry may be the play of the typically unflappable Henrik Lundqvist, who was injured in the series opener and yanked in the second period of Thursday's romp after permitting four goals on 18 shots. “Well, you can’t look at the big picture. That’s when you get lost a little bit,” Lundqvist said. "But at the same time, last time we were in there we managed to win (Game 2). So we just need to do everything right and we’ll have a good chance of winning.” One of the focal points of Friday's practice was the dismal power play that has converted on only 1-of-16 opportunities.
OVERTIME
1. Penguins rookie G Matt Murray has yielded one goal in two starts since returning from a concussion sustained in the regular-season finale.
2. Lundqvist is 5-1 in his last six postseason starts in Pittsburgh, allowing a total of seven goals.
3. Pittsburgh converted half of its six power-play chances in Game 4 to improve to 7-for-19 in the series.