W2W4: Penguins at Rangers, Game 1

Katie Strang, ESPN.comApr 16, 2015, 01:28 PM ET
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NEW YORK -- The New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins clash Thursday in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals at Madison Square Garden. The two clubs meet in the playoffs in what will be a rematch of last spring's stunning second-round series, when the Blueshirts erased a 3-1 series deficit to upset the Pens in seven games. This time around, it's the Pens who hope to play spoiler.

Role Reversal: The eighth-seeded Penguins are coming into this series as the clear underdogs against the Presidents' Trophy-winning Rangers, who finished the regular season with 113 points. This is unfamiliar territory for the Pens, at least compared to recent years, though they don't seem too concerned by the way they are being underestimated.

Said Sidney Crosby: "I've been on both sides of it and I don't think it really changes your approach that much. I think that, like I said, once you get in, it doesn't really matter. I think the expectations for us, even though they might not be as high from the outside, I think in here we want to move on, so we're going to do our best. I don’t really think we get caught up either way."

Depleted on D: Depth on defense is essential at this time of year, and the Penguins were forced to limp their way across the regular-season finish line with just five defensemen. Veteran blueliner Christian Ehrhoff and rookie Derrick Pouliot are out for Game 1, which means call-up Brian Dumoulin will draw into the lineup and be paired with Taylor Chorney.

Pens coach Mike Johnston said he likes that young defensive pairing because both players are good skaters, which will help to neutralize a very speedy Rangers team.

Need for Speed: Speaking of speed, Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said that might be the biggest difference from last year's club -- which advanced to the Stanley Cup finals before losing to the Los Angeles Kings -- to his year’s team.

Vigneault said he feels the infusion of youth has helped add another dimension to the transition game: "I think this one here might be a little quicker on going from defense to offense. The key to our team, though, is we still have to defend."

Special Teams: The Pens are smarting from the loss of top defenseman Kris Letang, not just for his defensive abilities, but also for his offensive contributions. Letang is out indefinitely with a concussion sustained in the last week of the regular season and his absence will be acutely missed on the power play, where he manned the point on the first unit.

Pens defenseman Ben Lovejoy pointed to the Calgary Flames as a good example of resilience, however, as Bob Hartley's squad made it to the playoffs despite the loss of captain and Norris Trophy candidate Mark Giordano. Lovejoy said he hopes the Pens can show the same sort of resolve.

"We would like to be able to do that without Kris," Lovejoy said.

Meanwhile, the Rangers added a much-needed threat to their power play in acquiring defenseman Keith Yandle at the trade deadline in March. Yandle finished third among defensemen with 29 power-play points during the season, despite spending the majority of the year with the bottom-feeding Arizona Coyotes.

"We knew that we were getting a really skilled player, a puck-moving defenseman that would be able to help us transition quickly five-on-five and help our power play," Vigneault said. "It did take him a little bit of time, but I think he’s fit in nicely."

Good to Go: The Rangers' leading scorer, Rick Nash, will be available to play Thursday despite missing Wednesday's practice with the flu. Nash, who led the Rangers with 42 goals this season, said he caught a 24-hour bug but feels well enough to play in Game 1.

"[I'm] very excited to get back into game action, game speed," Nash said.

Projected lineups:

Rangers

Rick Nash-Derick Brassard-Mats Zuccarello

Chris Kreider-Derek Stepan-J.T. Miller

Carl Hagelin-Kevin Hayes-Martin St. Louis

Tanner Glass-Dominic Moore-Jesper Fast

Ryan McDonagh-Dan Girardi

Marc Staal-Dan Boyle

Keith Yandle-Matt Hunwick

Henrik Lundqvist

Cam Talbot