Series Thread: Pens vs Rangers round 2

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

The Doobster does not have a good feeling about this series but at least we got history on our side (we've never lost to the Rangers in a playoff series). Hope we find our game & advance to the conference finals

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

I will say one thing, no 1st round opponent could've prepared us for the Rangers than the Blue Jackets. In my view, the Blue Jackets are a lesser version of the Rangers. Vezina goalie, young up & coming dmen, physical forwards. Both teams also have similar defensive systems & schemes. I believe that the Rangers are more talented and balanced however. Although I think we're well prepped for round 2, I do believe we have to up our game to win this series. The way we played in the 1st round won't cut it in round 2.

 

[element1286]

I think the Rangers are less physical but faster than CLB. At least we know this will be a hockey series, and not a brawl like a Flyers series would have been.

Will see how McDonough does against Sid, I watched the past two Rags games, and surprisingly Girardi looked terrible. No idea if that was just an anomaly.

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

I think the Rangers are less physical but faster than CLB. At least we know this will be a hockey series, and not a brawl like a Flyers series would have been.

Will see how McDonough does against Sid, I watched the past two Rags games, and surprisingly Girardi looked terrible. No idea if that was just an anomaly.

I think the Flyers went after McDonagh & Girardi hard which May have gotten them off their game some. We might have to employ the same strategy. I just don't like how we play with the lead. Good teams close the door when getting multi goal leads, this team just gives up.

 

[evolver115]

I think the Rangers are less physical but faster than CLB. At least we know this will be a hockey series, and not a brawl like a Flyers series would have been.

Will see how McDonough does against Sid, I watched the past two Rags games, and surprisingly Girardi looked terrible. No idea if that was just an anomaly.

I've seen speculation that both of them are playing hurt. McDonagh returned to play in their series against Philthy after sitting with an apparent upper body injury that he never looked fully recovered from. Also, Girardi I believe blocked a shot in game 6 in Philly that took a lot out of him.

No doubt that their 7 game series against the flyers was definitely taxing on them, and with the short turn around, it could end up favoring the Pens early in this one.

 

[element1286]

I actually thought McDonough was fine, just Girardi looked terrible. Yeah, the Rags were blocking a bunch of shots. Hopefully the quick turnaround will not heal all those bumps and bruises.

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

Note to the Pens, implement a very aggressive forecheck and take a lot of hard slapshots. Wear their dmen down as much as possible.

 

[evolver115]

Martin St. Louis worries me in this one. Actually him, and Dominic Moore. I go back to that 2011 series against TBL, those two guys tortured the Pens in that one. I know that series needs to be viewed with an asterisk because Sid and Geno were absent, but man do those two worry me.

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

Martin St. Louis worries me in this one. Actually him, and Dominic Moore. I go back to that 2011 series against TBL, those two guys tortured the Pens in that one. I know that series needs to be viewed with an asterisk because Sid and Geno were absent, but man do those two worry me.

There are lots of guys on the Rangers that scare me. Martin St Louis, Rick Nash, Brad Rochards, Derek Stepan, Mats Zuccarello, lots of guys who could make us look bad. We made Brandon Dubinsky look like Mark Messier in the last series, we'll probably get tore up by all the names I mentioned, along with others.

 

[element1286]

Yeah, the Rags do lead in the midget quick guys who are pretty good but not great dept, kind of the target player group who give the Pens defense problems.

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

Yeah, the Rags do lead in the midget quick guys who are pretty good but not great dept, kind of the target player group who give the Pens defense problems.

As of late pretty much all types of players give us problems. If given a chance I think I could even tear the Pens defense up.

 

[Darkstone42]

If Letang and Martin have shaken off the rust, as it appeared in Game 6, and if Orpik replaces Scuderi instead of Bortuzzo when he gets back, with Gibson coming back into the lineup, Fleury having a bounceback game after his gaffe, playing well in general, and giving a little confidence in his mental fortitude this year, and considering our history with NY in the playoffs, I can't help but feel a bit optimistic going into this series. But the key is going to be jumping on a likely tired Rangers team early and taking the first two at home. New York is a really good home team, so I think we have to hold serve at Consol.

 

[Darkstone42]

Due to the Rangers' speed, though, I would probably play Despres over Bortuzzo in this series. Or even Engelland. Either of those guys are more likely to keep up with the Rangers' speedy forwards. For the same reason, Letang will be especially integral to our success.

If Byslma's ever going to scratch Glass and Adams, this is the series to do it. The Rangers are the fastest team left in the Eastern Conference. Gibbons, Vitale, and Megna have the best chance of matching that speed and giving us a playable fourth line. Against a big, physical team like Columbus, I could see some matchup benefit to playing Adams and Glass, since they are more physical (I still prefer Megna and Gibbons), but Adams will be more useless than usual against the Rangers and Glass will see his own usefulness drastically diminish.

This is also the point at which we need to start using Crosby, Kunitz, and Jokinen, at the very least, consistently on the penalty kill. We'll need their skill and ability to turn the puck the other way.

If we try to get into a fast break game with New York, it won't work. On talent alone, we could get away with letting Columbus play their crashing game, but we cannot allow New York to play their game. They're too talented. A neutral zone clog and opportunistic rushes the other way is probably our recipe for success here. Puck possession in the attacking end as much as possible, obviously, but a real focus on preventing the Rangers from coming through the neutral zone with any kind of speed.

 

[Johnnydollaz89]

Best of luck to you guys, going to be a great series!

 

[evolver115]

If Letang and Martin have shaken off the rust, as it appeared in Game 6, and if Orpik replaces Scuderi instead of Bortuzzo when he gets back, with Gibson coming back into the lineup, Fleury having a bounceback game after his gaffe, playing well in general, and giving a little confidence in his mental fortitude this year, and considering our history with NY in the playoffs, I can't help but feel a bit optimistic going into this series. But the key is going to be jumping on a likely tired Rangers team early and taking the first two at home. New York is a really good home team, so I think we have to hold serve at Consol.

Agree with all of that. For me the first thing I like is playing New York instead of Philly. Flyers just know how to get the Pens off their game. Not that it wouldn't have been an exciting series to watch, but I think facing New York gives the Pens a better chance of advancing. Rangers are going to be a tough mountain to climb, but not as hard as Philly.

I have hopes that both of these teams just play straight up tough playoff hockey and don't get caught up in crap between the whistles (Kneel, Kunitz, Malkin). If the Pens mess around with that, and start taking bad penalties, they will probably lose.

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

Best of luck to you guys, going to be a great series!

Thanks Johnny, got a feeling you guys take us in 5 or 6 tho

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

Defense is the key IMO. Our defense has been so pathetic this season since the Olympics I have a hard time we could beat anyone.

 

[Johnnydollaz89]

Thanks Johnny, got a feeling you guys take us in 5 or 6 tho

Thanks, bud! I hope so, but I see it going 7.

 

[Darkstone42]

Defense is the key IMO. Our defense has been so pathetic this season since the Olympics I have a hard time we could beat anyone.

A healthy and rust-free Martin is a key to our defensive success. I don't know if there is a more important player on our team than him.

 

[DoobeeDoobeeDoo]

If Letang and Martin have shaken off the rust, as it appeared in Game 6, and if Orpik replaces Scuderi instead of Bortuzzo when he gets back, with Gibson coming back into the lineup, Fleury having a bounceback game after his gaffe, playing well in general, and giving a little confidence in his mental fortitude this year, and considering our history with NY in the playoffs, I can't help but feel a bit optimistic going into this series. But the key is going to be jumping on a likely tired Rangers team early and taking the first two at home. New York is a really good home team, so I think we have to hold serve at Consol.

History is certainly on our side but I don't like the matchups this time around. We have to play better than we did the previous series that's for sure. Rangers have more depth experience and skill than the Blue Jackets.