There are only 16 teams remaining this season with an opportunity to win Lord Stanley’s Cup.
Each of those 16 teams needs to win 16 games to raise it.
Only one of those teams will win 16 games this post season.
Only one team will raise the Stanley Cup.
It is the race to 16, the Pittsburgh Penguins are one of those teams hoping to get there, and it all begins tonight!
Hello friends and welcome to the first playoff edition of Big Dave’s Pens Pregame. It is wonderful to be back with you all for our journey towards Lord Stanley’s Cup.
Our Pens will hit the ice at Madison Square Garden tonight to take on the NHL’s best team, the New York Rangers.
Pens/Rags starts at 7pm, but the Pregame show begins right now.
Tonight's game day song is going to be a huge hit this summer, if it isn't already, from the British band Mumford and Sons. Off their new album, due out in May, their song "Believe." We should all believe when it comes to this series and the playoffs. So I thought it was the perfect song for the game!
The State of the Penguins
The Penguins were only 20-18-7 in the 2015 calendar year. They were 7-6-2 in March and 1-4-1 in April. Over their last seven games, they went only 2-4-1 and 4-9-2 in their last fifteen. Not exactly encouraging heading into the most stressful time of the season.
Yet, the Penguins made it in. By a pair of Brandon Sutter goals, they were able to send home the Bruins when they took down lowly Buffalo in the season’s final game and took the East’s 8th and final spot.
It has been far from pretty during this time. The Pens were without Christian Ehrhoff for much of that time, and have been without Kris Letang since the end of March. They played the majority of the last ten games a man down, thanks in part to the mangled cap situation that management left team. Evgeni Malkin, Steve Downie and Blake Comeau have played through nagging injuries and more often than not, the 18 skaters have left goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury out to dry.
Nevertheless, all of that is behind us now. Leave all the negatives of the last two months at the door and focus on the future. We made it. We are in the dance and every team that makes it has a shot to win the Cup. Say what you will about what has happened, the new season begins tonight and everyone is 0-0-0. It is all about the race to 16, and the marathon starts tonight.
RIding High On Broadway
Despite a sluggish start to the 2014-15 season, the Rangers have run past the rest of the Metropolitan division. They finished the season at 53-22-7, good for 113 points, the Metropolitan division title, the best record in the East and the best record in the National Hockey League. Not bad for a team that looked absolutely horrid in October and November.
There have been several reasons for the Rangers success this year. Firstly, they have performed well at home. The Rangers were 25-11-5 at MSG. Secondly, they have had resurgence from stars of the past. Rick Nash finally lived up to the hype from Columbus, scoring 42 goals and leading the team with points. Likewise, Marc Staal returned to form as a top-4 defenseman, skating over 21 minutes a night and putting up 20 points. Lastly, the Rangers have gotten great production out of role players, namely Derick Brassard, Chris Kreider and Cam Talbot. Brassard had a breakout season and worked his way to the top line with 41 assists and 60 points. Kreider showed he has a solid all-around game as both a physical forward and a scorer. Perhaps the biggest piece has been backup netminder Cam Talbot. Talbot went 21-9-4 with a 2.21 goals against average and five shutouts while starting goalie Henrik Lundqvist recovered from a puck to the net. Talbot could be considered the savior of this team, not just because of the stats, but the fact he replaced arguably the world’s best goaltender during the most vital stretch of the season.
It’s hard to believe that a team that went to the Stanley Cup Final could get any better than they did, especially with the offseason subtractions. This team has gotten better. They have gotten more well rounded, more deep. They do not have the huge stars like Chicago or Pittsburgh, but they have the right pieces to make a run. The Rangers are the team to beat in the East, the Pens will have their work cut out for them.
Rangers By The Numbers:
- 53-22-7 overall record
- 25-11-5 at Madison Square Garden
- Winners of the Metropolitan Division and the President’s Trophy.
- 7-3-0 in their last 10 games coming into the playoffs.
- 3-0-1 this season against Pittsburgh, and arguably should have been 4-0-0.
Scoring Leaders:
1. Rick Nash 69 points (42G-27A)
2. Derick Brassard 60 points (19G-41A)
3. Derek Stepan 55 points (16G-39A)
4. Marty St. Louis 52 points (21G-31A)
5. Mats Zuccarello 49 points (15G-34A)
Tale of Two Goaltenders
- Despite missing extended time after taking a puck to the neck, Henrik Lundqvist posted another Vezina-worthy season. On the year, Lundqvist went 30-13-3, had a 2.25 goals against average, a .922 save percentage and had five shutouts.
- Backup netminder Cam Talbot had a career year while filling in for Lundqvist. His 21-9-4 record is the best of his career. He also posted a 2.21 goals against average and had five shutouts.
Projected Lines for the Rangers:
1. Rick Nash – Derick Brassard – Mats Zuccarello
2. Chris Kreider – Derek Stepan – J.T. Miller
3. Carl Hagelin – Kevin Hayes – Marty St. Louis
4. Tanner Glass – Dominic Moore – Jesper Fast
Projected Defensive Pairs for the Rangers:
1. Ryan McDonagh – Dan Girardi
2. Dan Boyle – Marc Staal
3. Keith Yandle – Matt Hunwick
Henrik Lundqvist will get the start in net tonight.
News & Notes Around the Pens
2014 6th Round pick Jaden Lindo has been signed to an amateur tryout agreement with Wilkes-Barre. Lindo missed a portion of the season while recovering from knee surgery, but posted seven goals and nine points in 49 games played. He projects to be a bottom-six type forward.
Injury Report:
- D Christian Ehrhoff has been cleared for contact and has practiced with the team for the last four days. He WILL NOT play tonight and is still considered day-to-day while recovering from a concussion.
- D Derrick Pouliot skated yesterday and today with the team, but he also WILL NOT play tonight in game one. Pouliot has missed the last two regular season games after sustaining an upper-body injury against Ottawa. HCMJ stated he could be ready for game two.
- Kris Letang and Pascal Dupuis have officially been ruled out for the remainder of the season, regardless of the Pens performance. Dupuis has missed the majority of the season with a pulmonary embolism and Letang has missed the last ten games with a concussion.
With the salary cap restraints gone with the playoffs, the Penguins have been able to fill out their lineup and call up a few healthy bodies. They have recalled the following players:
- F Scott Wilson: Made his NHL debut v. NJD on December 2nd. Despite leaving his debut early and missing 18 games due to injury, he posted 19 goals, 41 points and 147 shots in the AHL.
- D Brian Dumoulin: Made his NHL debut in 2013-14, but scored his first NHL goal on Dec. 15 against Tampa. He played 10 regular season games for the Pens this year, posting two points and a minus-1 rating. In the AHL, Dumoulin lead all WBS defensemen with 29 assists and 33 points in 62 games. His plus-25 rating was also 4th in the AHL
- D Scott Harrington: Made his NHL debut v. Colorado on December 18th and played 10 regular season games for the Pens this season. In the AHL, Harrington posted two goals, twelve points and a plus-19 rating in 48 games.
- D Taylor Chorney: Chorney was the Pens emergency call up after the playing a man down last week. He has played in the last two regular season games. He will likely pair with Brian Dumoulin in game one tonight. The two have been partners in Wilkes-Barre all season.
Several Numbers for the Pens and the Playoffs:
- 27-30 all-time in series opening games.
- 19-8 all-time v. the Rangers in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Pens have also won 4 of 5 post season series against New York, the only loss coming in 2014.
- The Pens are 9-3 all-time at Madison Square Garden in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
- Marc-Andre Fleury has had good success v. NYR in the post season. He has a 7-5 record with a 2.08 GAA, .923 SV% and 3 shutout, including back-to-back shutouts last postseason against NYR.
- Brandon Sutter had a breakout performance in the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs. He set career highs with 5 goals and 7pts in the playoffs last year.
- Paul Martin also had a solid playoffs, adding 8 assists in the Pens 13 games.
Pens Scoring Leaders for 2014-15
- Goals: 1. Crosby (28) 1. Malkin (28) 3. Hornqvist (25) 4. Sutter (21) 5. Kunitz (17)
- Assists: 1. Crosby (58) 2. Letang (43) 3. Malkin (42) 4. Hornqvist (26) 5. Kunitz (23)
- Points: 1. Crosby (84) 2. Malkin (70) 3. Letang (54) 4. Hornqvist (51) 5. Kunitz (40)
Who's Hot... Who's Not...
HOT: Patric Hornqvist. I read that Hornqvist has had 19 points in his last 20 games. I was surprised by the numbers, but they check out. The Pens bulldog in front of the net has been hot since returning from injury and has been key to the Pens making it into the playoffs. Unlike some of his teammates, Hornqvist gives 110% every shift, every game. He will be key in the series against the Rangers.
NOT: David Perron. He started out hot after a trade from the abyss that is Edmonton, but has struggled mightily coming down the stretch. Perron has had zero goals in his last 12 games and only posted one assist in his last 5.
HOT: Brando Sutter: Despite being the bane of the advanced stats lovers out there, Brandon Sutter not only had a solid season, but has been hot of late. His 21 goals on the season tied a career high, but he has also been one of the Pens biggest scorers in the last 10 games. Sutter has scored 4 goals in his last 5 games and 5 goals in the last 12.
NOT: Chris Kunitz. It is hard to believe the level of regression we have seen from Kunitz this season. Just a year ago, he posted 35 goals wrapped up his third consecutive season of at least 60 points. Not this year, Kunitz has been off his game and a liability in the eyes of some. He has only 1 goal in his last 29 games when he should probably have close to 10 in that time. He will need to rediscover his game if they Pens will have any success this post season.
HOT: Ian Cole. Who would have thought this would have been the best deadline deal for the Penguins this season. Ian Cole for Robert Bortuzzo was supposed to be just a simple swap of 7th defenseman, instead Cole has been the Pens best defenseman since the deal. He had a five game assist streak before being shutout the last two games of the regular season. In his last 7 games, Cole has scored a goal and six points, while seeing time on the power play as well.
Projected LInes & Pairs
1. Daniel Winnik – Sidney Crosby – Patric Hornqvist
2. Chris Kunitz – Evgeni Malkin – David Perron
3. Beau Bennett – Brandon Sutter – Steve Downie
4. Nick Spaling – Max Lapiere – Blake Comeau
Pairs:
1. Paul Martin – Ben Lovejoy
2. Rob Scuderi – Ian Cole
3. Brian Dumoulin – Taylor Chorney
Marc-Andre Fleury will get the start in net.
#PressBoxHeroes: D Scott Harrington, F Craig Adams, F Scott Wilson
My 3 Keys to the Game
2. Pens Defensemen: There are many miles on the legs of the Pens defensemen coming into this series and both Chorney and Dumoulin will make their debuts tonight. The top-4 will have to be very good, while Chorney-Dumoulin will likely be stuck hounding the Nash line all night.
3. Role Players: The playoffs require more depth and secondary scoring than the regular season. The Pens will need big things from their bottom six forwards. Sutter, Downie and Comeau will be the keys to that, as all three have posted double digit goals this season.
My 3 Players to Watch
2. Brandon Sutter: Sutter has been hot coming into the playoffs and is coming off a great post season last year. He will need to duplicate his numbers from last year to help the Pens win this series. The good news for him, he will have a better supporting cast of Downie, Comeau, etc than he did last season.
3. Paul Martin: With Letang out the remainder of the year, the Pens will ask a lot of Paul Martin. I would not be shocked to see him play close to 30 minutes a night and in all facets. He will have to be strong if the Pens hope to have a chance against a deep Rangers team and a weak Pens defensive corps.
My Final Thoughts
- Locally, the game will be covered by ROOT Sports. I believe they will have an hour long pregame beginning at 6pm tonight before Steigy and Errey have the call at 7pm.
- Nationally, the game will be broadcast on NBCSN. Judging by who called games last night, we will Doc Emrick on the call, and unfortunately Regis....
For updates throughout the day, be sure to check in to my twitter page. Follow me at @BigDPensPregame.
You can also check in on the Facebook page which also goes by Big Dave's Pens Pregame. Its the profile with the Sidney Crosby Simpsons drawing.
I will have in-game coverage over on Twitter throughout the night and will tweet my post game thoughts there. Be sure to tune in for both. If you don't have twitter (get it :P), you can follow along on the Facebook page. I believe John will be posting during the game.
I will have the Pregame again on Saturday, be sure to check in during the day for that.
I just want to take a second to thank you all for several things. Firstly, thank you for supporting the Twitter and Facebook pages. The twitter page has gained over 400 followers this season alone! I cannot thank you all enough for sharing, retweeting and talking with me over there. It is phenomenal the support. The same can be said for the Facebook page. It has gained over 125 followers this year as well. Again, thank you all for the support.
That will do it for me folks. Thank you for reading and remember, LETS GO PENS!!!