Empire Writes Back
Fansided

New York Rangers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins: 5 Predictions for First Round

By Nick Ziegler

Mar 13, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) faces off against New York Rangers center Derek Stepan (21) during the thirdperiod at Madison Square Garden. The Penguins won 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 13, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) faces off against New York Rangers center Derek Stepan (21) during the thirdperiod at Madison Square Garden. The Penguins won 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 6
Next
New York Rangers
Mar 13, 2016; New York, NY, USA; New York Rangers left wing Chris Kreider (20) and Pittsburgh Penguins left wing Chris Kunitz (14) fight during the thirdperiod at Madison Square Garden. The Penguins won 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports /

– Rangers’ special teams get destroyed

Special teams is a key aspect of the game of hockey, as either being up or down a man on the ice can make a huge difference in key spots of the game. In recent years, the Rangers’ power play has been highly criticized for being poor in the playoffs, but in the regular season, they have been in the middle of the road this season.

The addition of Keith Yandle from last season has certainly helped the power play unit in his first full season with the Rangers, but unfortunately, the Penguins are fifth in the NHL at killing penalties.

On the other side of things, the Rangers also have a terrible penalty killing unit, which will be going up against a decent power play for the Penguins. This season, the Rangers are 26th in the NHL in penalty kill percentage, which is something the Penguins’ offense is going to be looking to exploit. The Rangers must do all they can to stay out of the penalty box against the Penguins, as their talented offense will surely get the better of the Rangers’ penalty kill unit.

Prediction: Penguins score five power play goals, Rangers score one in the series.

Next: How will Hank do?

Home/New York Rangers