The New York Rangers have rallied from a 3-1 series deficit to pull even and force a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference Semis. Clearly the momentum is on their side, but it's hard to believe the talented Pittsburgh Penguins will disappoint even more than they did last year. You'd have to think they'll be hungry to at least get back to the Eastern finals and either have another shot at the Bruins or face the Canadians. (I imagine Rook might have a preview for that Game 7 on Wednesday). There are five keys I see to the game tonight:
1) Goaltending. I know, incredible insight from me. It doesn't take a genius to realize that goaltending is a huge factor in any hockey game, and especially in this series. Marc-Andre Fleury (PIT) has looked great at times, but has also looked like absolute shit. Henrik Lundqvist (NYR) struggled early in the series, but has been dominant lately. Can Fleury catch more shots than he has been and contain the number of rebound opportunities for the Blue Shirts? Will Lundqvist continue to play out of his head and end the Pens season with disappointment again?
2) Power Play. Once again, do you love my hockey knowledge? No shit the power play is gonna be important. The Penguins had the best power play in the league during the regular season, scoring 23.4% of the time, but they are only 1 of 18 in this series on the advantage. Even worse for the Pens is that multiple times this series after not scoring on the power play, they turn around and immediately give up a goal on the other end. It's basically a 2 goal swing when they come so close on one end but then give up an easy goal on the other. It's what made the game 3-1 in Game 6. They couldn't score on the power play and seconds after the Rangers regained full strength they put one in the back of the net. It could've been 2-2, but instead it was 3-1. Meanwhile, the Rangers didn't score on the power play in the entire playoffs through Game 4 of this series, but have been just fine in Games 5 and 6 netting two goals on the power play. For the series, the Blue Shirts are now 2 for 21 with the one man advantage.
3) Crosby and Malkin. I'm not talking about these two individually. I'm talking about when these two guys are on the ice at the same time. Pittsburgh head coach Dan Bylsma has used them together more and more lately, along with Chris Kunitz. Kunitz is usually on the same line as Crosby, but using Crosby and Malkin together has been something relatively new this postseason. I think it has worked great for the Pens, but in Game 7 they have to get something out of it. They have to get at least one goal when these two superstars are on the ice together. It causes such problems for the defense, but this two-headed monster needs to produce something tonight.
4) Marty's Emotional Roller Coaster. Can the Rangers continue to feed off of Martin St. Louis' emotion? Marty lost his mother to a heart attack the day before Game 5 and the Rangers routed the Pens to force Game 6. Game 6 fell on Mother's Day and it was another emotional day for St. Louis. Marty netted a first period goal en route to New York's win to force Game 7. I have to believe the Rangers are playing for St. Louis right now as he deals with the loss of his mother.
5) The Pleasant Surprise. Derick Brassard has been huge for the Rangers lately, netting all four of his postseason goals in this series. He's played scrappy against the Pens' defense, getting rebounds off of Fleury and putting them in. Brassard didn't have a huge year for New York, which is why I call him a "pleasant surprise" as he's played well this series.
Prediction: Penguins 3 Rangers 2. I think Fleury will play well with the home crowd behind him. It didn't show in Game 5, but Fleury gains confidence at home with the crowd chanting "Flower" behind him. I think the Penguins offense will bounce back from two shitty games and use their two superstars effectively. Both teams' penalty kills have been great all season, but the Penguins power play is better than the Rangers and I think the Pens finally get back to scoring on the advantage. The way I'm analyzing this makes it seem like it will be a blow out, but it will be a close game, hence the 3-2 prediction. The Rangers have fought hard to get back in the series, but the Penguins will not be denied of getting back to the Eastern Conference Finals.
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