Rangers/Penguins 2015 Playoff Preview

It took the last game of the 2015 NHL season before the power house Pittsburgh Penguins were able to clinch a playoff birth with a win over the last place Buffalo Sabres.

What await the Pens in the opening round of the playoffs are the New York Rangers who have won the team’s third Presidents’ Trophy with a franchise record 113 points.What is more impressive is the way the Rangers got there with key players including franchise goalie Henrik Lundqvist missing a good part of the season.

The Rangers will begin their quest for a return trip to the Stanley Cup Final against a familiar foe–the Pittsburgh Penguins.

As we stated above the Pens struggled to get here but we all know the playoffs have a way of changing teams and one can never count out a team with the likes of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin they are always a threat.

The season series looks to be one sided with New York winning 6 of the last 7 dating back to 2014.

On paper, this series is a mismatch.

Series Price:

New York Rangers -200

However, this is the playoffs, and the first round has become notorious for weeding out over-confident top seeds. Do the Rangers fall into this category?

To answer my own question,NO!

The Rangers are a team that has shown what it takes to win and IMHO should have won the cup in 2014.You got to like their chances in 2015 with the likes of Ryan McDonagh and Henrik Lundqvist keeping them grounded, and focused.

I am sure the Rangers will be reminded of what almost happened to them in the opening round of the 2014 playoffs where they almost got upset by the Philadelphia Flyers.

Opening Round Prediction in the Series: Rangers win in 5 Games