New York Rangers: Keys to Beating the Pittsburgh Penguins

When one sits down and looks at what lies ahead for the New York Rangers, the list is endless. After winning what seemed to be a very easy series in which the Rangers completely destroyed the Devils on the ice and in their heads, the task ahead for the Rangers is to face the Pittsburgh Penguins, who could very well be the most offensively explosive team in the NHL.

With that being said, here are the keys to winning the series.

 
1. Stay out of the penalty box.

The Penguins power play is chock-full of amazing offensive talents such as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Marian Hossa, Petr Sykora, Ryan Malone, and pointman Sergei Gonchar.

If the Rangers want any chance at winning this series, they will need to not take penalties. The Rangers penalty kill was good during the season and through the first round of the playoffs, but if they make a constant march to the box, the series will be over rather quickly.

2. Play smart in the neutral zone.

In the last series, the Rangers played very well in all facets of the game, except one; neutral zone defense.

The Rangers committed too may turnovers against the Devils, but because the Devils' offense isn't that potent, they didn't capitalize.

The Penguins, however, are a much different animal. Their speed and talent will create a hell for the Rangers if they do not stay smart. When they get to the red line, dump the puck in, do not try cross ice, and behind the back passes, because if you make a mistake by one inch, it will cost them.

3. Shoot, shoot, shoot!

The puck will very rarely go in the net unless you shoot that little black rubber disk.

The Rangers have a habit of trying to be too fancy, passing up opportunities to shoot while going for the fancy pass. That all has to stop right now. The main culprit of this is Martin Straka.

It seems the first thing on his mind when he gets that puck is to get it to Jaromir Jagr. With the way Jagr is going, that may not be a bad idea. But if Straka is wide open and in the slot with the puck, and he passes, there are going to be a lot of unhappy Rangers fans.

Penguins goaltender Marc Andre Fleury may be very good, but his rebound control has been atrocious. Rangers must charge to the net looking for those juicy rebounds and hope they turn into goals.

4. The play of the third line.

As important as the play of Jagr's first line is, the most important line may be the third line, with Chris Drury centering Ryan Callahan and Nigel Dawes.

Not only does the line have scoring ability, but they have defensive responsibility and they check the hell out of their opponents, and cleanly. This line will have to score some goals but more importantly, stay physical.

This line singlehandedly wore down the New Jersey Devils in round one, and the play of Ryan Callahan in the final two minutes of the game five series clinching victory killed precious time for the Devils off the clock.

With Sidney Crosby being the offensive player to key on, this line can check him and do so without taking penalties. These guys are not dirty so it will be hard for Crosby to whine to the referees after every time he is touched.

5. Sean Avery.

One of the main reasons the Rangers were able to defeat the Devils with such ease was Sean Avery.

Not only is he a pain in the ass to all who face him, but the guy can score important goals. By scoring three goals in the first round against Martin Brodeur, he showed the NHL that he is not a classless pest, but a valid scorer.

Next comes the agitation factor. Pierre Maguire said it best, "If he got into Martin Brodeur's head the way he did, God knows what he can do to Marc Andre Fleury". Fleury is a talented but a young and playoff-unexperienced goaltender. As much as he might say that Avery won't be a factor, you can bet the farm that he is nervous as hell about meeting Avery in the crease.

Which brings me to a key for the Penguins winning the series. Someone, probably Georges Laraque, will have to negate the "Avery Factor."

6. Patience.

For the most part, fans hate it, especially when you have an offensively explosive team and play a defensive style. I was one of those people.

I ragged on Rangers' coach Tom Renney for most of the regular season without realizing his system was built for the playoffs. The second round against an excellent offensive is no time for "Run n' Gun" hockey, mainly because if the Rangers play this way, it will only result in too many bad turnovers.

For the Rangers, the first goal will be of the utmost importance, then they can play patiently and wait to capitalize on the Penguin's mistakes.