Faceoff Factor

Penguins Vs. Rangers Game 1 Preview

Matt Bodenschatz | National Hockey League

Apr 25, 09:43 AM | Hype this story!

______________________________________________________

Penguins (2) vs. Rangers (5) Game 1
______________________________________________________

Series Score: Penguins 0 – Rangers 0
Game Time: 7:00 EST
Location: Mellon Arena (Pittsburgh)
Television: Versus, CBC

______________________________________________________

Preview
______________________________________________________

For more than a week, the Pittsburgh Penguins have sat idle, waiting for the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs to come to an end. Now, the well-rested team is set to face off against division rival New York Rangers in what promises to be a much tougher than the one completed in just four games.

Tonight, Marc-Andre Fleury and Henrik Lundqvist will be in goal as the two teams collide for game one.

“Obviously he’s a good athlete, and he never gives up on pucks, which is going to make it all the more difficult,” Penguins forward Adam Hall said of Lundqvist in today’s “Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:“http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/penguins/s_564240.html?source=rss&feed=12. “We’re going to have to work that much harder to beat him.”

But Fleury is no slouch, as he gave up just five goals in four first round games.

The key to tonight’s game for Pittsburgh is to get the puck on the net early and often, and the Penguins certainly seem to have this drilled into their heads.

“I think it’s just not trying to make the pretty play and the fancy play, and I think we’ve fallen victim to that against them, especially in their building,” Penguins defenseman Ryan Whitney said. “You make one pass and you can shoot it, but instead you make one or two more…and that’s why we said we need to get every puck to the net we can.”

Against the Ottawa Senators, Gary Roberts scored a goal on the second shift of the game by plugging away. That goal set the tone for the series that saw the Senators take only one lead.

But Roberts could be out of the lineup tonight, forcing the Penguins to look for a spark from someone else.

“If everything goes well and there are no setbacks, hopefully I’ll be in the lineup,” Roberts said in the Pittsburgh Tribune Review. Coach Michel Therrien confirmed that this will be a game time decision.

So, as the Penguins look to tonight’s game, the focus must be to put the puck on net and to avoid turnovers at all costs; however, the players must also ignore Sean Avery, who was all over the ice in round one against the New Jersey Devils.

If the Penguins can execute both of these plans and play a puck control game, they should be all right. But failing to follow through could put a negative spin on this series very quickly.

For a complete list of team leaders and statistics, click here.

______________________________________________________

Injuries
______________________________________________________

Penguins: Roberts, DTD (Groin)
Rangers: Staal, DTD (Foot); Orr, DTD (Broken Toe)