The Rangers and Penguins match up comparatively evenly for his or her first-round sequence of the Stanley Cup playoffs, which begins Tuesday evening on the Backyard, however the largest disparity is in postseason expertise.
Pittsburgh has a major edge in that class. Important could even be an understatement.
Yearly, NHL gamers discuss concerning the variations between the common season and the playoffs. The adjustments in pace, depth and general really feel of the sport. The heightened feelings, the magnified errors and the emphasis on battle ranges. Many have mentioned that nobody can perceive what it’s like till you’ve really skilled it.
However the Rangers aren’t shopping for into that. The Rangers can’t purchase into it, as a result of that's the place the Penguins may benefit from them.
“I don’t suppose expertise is all that it’s chalked as much as be,” mentioned Andrew Copp, who participated in apply Sunday for the primary time since sustaining a lower-body harm that sidelined him in three of the Rangers’ final 4 video games of the common season. “They’re simply three actually good gamers and their workforce is excellent. Clearly, I feel our workforce is excellent, too. I feel we’re prepared for this problem. It’s undoubtedly going to be a terrific sequence and we’re wanting ahead to it.”
Added Artemi Panarin, who was additionally again at apply after lacking the ultimate two video games with an upper-body harm: “We truthfully don’t take into consideration that. We respect them, however we simply concentrate on our recreation. We've the boldness about our recreation and our younger guys, they've the expertise already within the season. We ought to be OK.”
The Penguins are within the playoffs for a Sixteenth-straight season, extending the longest-active postseason streak amongst groups within the main North American skilled sports activities leagues. (In a type of years, nevertheless, the Penguins misplaced to the Canadiens within the qualifying spherical of the 2020 bubble.) They’ve gained three Stanley Cups over that span as effectively. The Rangers, who missed the playoffs in every of the final 4 seasons, haven’t made it out of the second spherical because the 2014-15 season, once they misplaced within the convention ultimate in seven video games to the Lightning.
In who will doubtless begin in Sport 1 for the Rangers, and Sunday’s apply indicated it might be Ryan Reaves over Dryden Hunt, the Rangers have 4 gamers with completely no playoff expertise and 9 in whole that both have none or simply the three video games throughout the 2020 bubble playoffs.
Not together with the Rangers who solely competed within the bubble, the Rangers’ lineup collectively has 414 playoff video games of expertise. Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang have 486 video games amongst simply the three of them.
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“Stanley Cups, the Huge Three of Crosby, Malkin and Letang,” Copp mentioned of what involves thoughts when he thinks of the Penguins. “Three gamers which have all gained three Cups collectively, know what it takes this time of yr, have form of seen all of it. … Clearly, a workforce that’s made the playoffs I imagine 16 straight years, possibly extra. Which is clearly very, very spectacular.”
Reaves has probably the most postseason expertise of the Rangers’ anticipated lineup for Sport 1, with 84 playoff video games beneath his belt. Chris Kreider isn’t far behind with 80. Defenseman Justin Braun, who would doubtless be the primary defenseman in ought to an harm come up, has 100 video games of playoff expertise.
The final time the Rangers and Penguins squared off within the playoffs was in 2016, when Pittsburgh handily took the sequence in 5 video games. The one participant who remains to be on the Rangers roster from that yr is Kreider.
“It’s simply the even-keel mentality,” Copp mentioned. “In case you win Sport 1 of the primary spherical, doesn’t imply you gained the Stanley Cup. And if you happen to lose Sport 1, doesn’t imply you’re going dwelling in 4. In all probability simply maintain that even-keel mentality. It’s a protracted sequence, however it’s a brief sequence, too.
“Simply form of driving that nice line of urgency and desperation, however on the identical time, not getting too determined and making erratic performs to try to come again in a recreation or one thing like that. Simply form of keep the course.”
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