GDT: ECQF Game 1 : New York Rangers vs Pittsburgh Penguins - 7pm EST - MSG, ESPN - Series (0-0)

[Leonardo87]

(M2) New York Rangers vs (M3) Pittsburgh Penguins​

Rangers: 52-24-6, 110 points - Penguins: 46-25-11, 103 points​

Season series: NYR 3-1-0; PIT 1-3-0​

Penguins Projected Line up

Jake Guentzel -- Sidney Crosby -- Bryan Rust
Danton Heinen -- Evgeni Malkin -- Rickard Rakell
Brock McGinn -- Jeff Carter -- Kasperi Kapanen
Brian Boyle -- Teddy Blueger -- Evan Rodrigues

Brian Dumoulin -- Kris Letang
Marcus Pettersson -- John Marino
Mike Matheson -- Chad Ruhwedel

Casey DeSmith
Louis Domingue

Scratched: Mark Friedman
Injured: Tristan Jarry (lower body, Nathan Beaulieu (lower body), Jason Zucker (lower body)


Rangers Projected line up

Chris Kreider -- Mika Zibanejad -- Frank Vatrano
Artemi Panarin -- Ryan Strome -- Andrew Copp
Alexis Lafreniere -- Filip Chytil -- Kaapo Kakko
Barclay Goodrow -- Kevin Rooney -- Ryan Reaves

Ryan Lindgren -- Adam Fox
K'Andre Miller -- Jacob Trouba
Patrik Nemeth -- Braden Schneider

Igor Shesterkin
Alexandar Georgiev

Scratched: Libor Hajek, Justin Braun, Jonny Brodzinski, Julien Gauthier, Greg McKegg, , Dryden Hunt
Injured: Tyler Motte (upper body)

Let’s Go Rangers!

There can only be one!

​

Kicking off Game 1….

Down with the Penguins!

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Click to read more...

 

[fm]

Let’s fkn go boys!!!!

 

[Harbour Dog]

Here's hoping we're ready for playoff hockey, and Malkin cheapshots.

 

[bleeding blue]

So ready for playoff hockey again, it has been so long! LGR!!!!!

 

[Irishguy42]

 

[TheKing30]

LETS GO! Also not sure if its been advertised but if anyones going to the game they have a little fanfest like Rangerstown where the Modells used to be by msg

 

[ThirdEye]

Pittsburgh is very beatable but I can assure you they will get the most out of their players. It's time for some of these guys on our team to make a name for themselves. for the kids, it can be a huge jumping off point for next season

 

[Speedtrials]

I can't believe the day is finally here. It feels like a real long time since that "letter" went out. At the same time with the core and assets we have, the wait feels worth it. We should be in a great spot over the next 5-8 years. Will probably need Igor to make a couple top saves esrly.

 

[Crease]

Hold me.

 

[Leonardo87]

Hold me.

 

[Atax]

So pumped. LGR!

 

[rangers1314]

Cant wait to be demoralized! Lets go!

 

[DialUp]

Butt already firmly clenched.

 

[Machinehead]

Liverpool win their semifinal and then the Rangers win their opener. Dare I? Shall we tempt the fates?

 

[Beer League Sniper]

It's going to be an interesting series. I think we win out, but this is going to be a war.

We got absolutely trounced in that play-in series versus Carolina two years ago. The core of this team is largely the same (8,10,16,20,23,31,55,93), but our depth has vastly improved. We're going to need our top-end players to pull their weight if we want to go anywhere. PIT already signaled at the end of the regular season that they have every intention of dragging this into the mud. Time to earn your paycheck, 17/21/29/75.

Regarding the kid line, I think 13 has another gear. 72 and 24, I worry about.

Time will tell. LFGR!

 

[McRanger92]

I am very nervous and very excited

 

[Chytilmania]

Have to DVR the first game Working until 9, schedule came out too late to change anything.
But going to the game Thursday at least!

 

[PuckLuck3043]

It's going to be an interesting series. I think we win out, but this is going to be a war.

We got absolutely trounced in that play-in series versus Carolina two years ago. The core of this team is largely the same (8,10,16,20,23,31,55,93), but our depth has vastly improved. We're going to need our top-end players to pull their weight if we want to go anywhere. PIT already signaled at the end of the regular season that they have every intention of dragging this into the mud. Time to earn your paycheck, 17/21/29/75.

Regarding the kid line, I think 13 has another gear. 72 and 24, I worry about.

Time will tell. LFGR!

The top players have been pulling their weight all year so I'm not too worried about that. The play of the 3rd line is the key to this series IMO. I think Laf will have a good series, not so sure about Chytil and Kakko.

 

[McRanger92]

I had a conversation with Dave Maloney at an MSG event recently and I asked him if he thought the Rangers could make a run and what he said has stuck with me. He basically said they have all the components, but Fox (and to a lesser extent Mika & Panarin) needed to show they can play at an elite level in the playoffs. He referenced Leetch needing a few playoff exits to really understand what it took. I think Igor may need to steal a game or 2 early while a somewhat inexperienced team gets used to the speed and physicality of the playoffs. Goodrow-Rooney-Reaves/Hunt are going to have to drag the team into the fight as well.

 

[Fitzy]

The last time NYR were in the playoffs we had just traded for Brendan Smith in an effort to shore up a defense where Staal, Girardi, and Klein were in serious decline.

Henrik Lundqvist was having the worst season of his career, Brady Skjei was a rookie, and a lot of the three line scoring depth that had buoyed the team during it's cup runs was starting to degrade. Our depth, Hayes and Miller, combined for 0 goals in 24 playoff games.

It's been a minute, although I'll say the 7 year playoff draught from 1998 to 2005 felt much, much longer. This time, we knew what we were building towards.

 

[LORDE]

Lets f***ING GO!!!!!!

 

[McRanger92]

The top players have been pulling their weight all year so I'm not too worried about that. The play of the 3rd line is the key to this series IMO. I think Laf will have a good series, not so sure about Chytil and Kakko.

I think Lafreniere & K'Andre are going to have a big series. Less thinking, more doing for Laf. And for Miller he needs to use that size to finish checks and clear the crease, which he's been doing well in the second half. He also has a point shot that is good at finding its way through traffic which is an underrated skill this time of year.

 

[Mac n Gs]

I'm not counting the play-in round, but it's actually pretty remarkable to see how much the team has changed between our last official playoff game and now:

Our 2016-17 opening lineup against MTL:

Kreider-Stepan-Zucc
Vesey-Zibanejad-Nash
Grabner-Hayes-Miller
Glass-Lindberg-Fast

McDonagh-Girardi
Staal-Holden
Skjei-Smith

Hank

Compared to tonight:

Kreider-Zibanejad-Vatrano
Panarin-Strome-Copp
Lafrenière-Chytil-Kakko
Rooney-Goodrow-Reaves

Lindgren-Fox
Miller-Trouba
Nemeth-Schneider

Shesterkin

It's been a wild 5 years, but holy shit am I ready for Rangers playoffs hockey again. LET'S GO RANGERS

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

A playoff GDT?

A PLAYOFF GDT!

Not counting the BS covid play-in series, its been 1,820 days since the last real Rangers playoff game, a game 6, 4-2 elimination loss to the Ottawa Senators on May 9th, 2017.

Players like Nash, Zucc and McDonagh were around and a young kid name Pavel Buchnevich played in his first 2 postseason games in that series. Mika was 23 years old and he and Kreider are the only ones remaining from that roster. About one month later, the Rangers drafted their current 3rd line center, Filip Chytil, 21st overall.

Since then they tore it down and built it back up with draft picks, fortunate trades and some big ticket UFA signings. The fans were on board with taking 2 or 3 steps back, to hopefully take 5 or 6 forward. Patience is still required in some area, but the dog days of the rebuild are long behind us. The fans and management have made the necessary sacrifices to properly build a roster worthy of a playoff berth.

And here were are. Game 1. May it be the beginning of a long journey for the core of this group, whether it be this postseason and/or beyond. Bank the experience, understand what it takes and apply it to your skates. Playoff hockey is a different game. Posers take a back seat. Its about who wants it and how much of a team this team can really become.

Let's Go Rangers!!!!

 

[Leonardo87]

I’m glad a lot of folks are not counting that bubble play in round as a playoff series. Heck, wouldn’t have gotten Laf If they had qualified.