The Penguins open their Stanley Cup playoff run tomorrow night at Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers.
The Pens were 1-3 against the Rangers in the regular season, winning the first time they played, 1-0, but losing the next three. For the Penguins, playoff experience is important, but so is playoff success, and they have lost their first-round series three years in a row.
Coach Mike Sullivan says veteran playoff experience is important.
The Penguins had the NHL’s third-ranked penalty kill this season but the Rangers had the fourth-ranked power play. Sullivan says the Pens have not been as sharp lately in shorthanded situations.
The Penguins recalled forward Drew O’Connor from Wilkes- Barre/Scranton on Saturday. He’d been sent down February 20th to get back to form after suffering a collapsed lung in January. Sullivan says O’Connor has a lot to offer after his stint in the minors.
Defenseman Kris Letang says the playoffs are “a different animal” than the regular season.
Letang says the Rangers will be a tough first-round opponent.
Letang is confident in the Penguins’ playoff-tested veterans.
Sullivan said yesterday that goaltender Tristan Jarry and forward Jason Zucker are both “day-to-day” and will miss the start of the series. Neither one of them were on the ice at practice yesterday. Jarry has been sidelined with a foot injury, believed to be a broken bone, since April 14th. Zucker was injured last Tuesday in a game against Edmonton. Defenseman Brian Dumoulin, who was hurt Friday but returned to the season finale game against Columbus, was a full practice participant in Cranberry yesterday.
Game two of the series is Thursday night in New York. The Penguins return home to Pittsburgh for games three and four on Saturday and next Monday.
Washington forward Alexander Ovechkin was a full practice participant yesterday as the Capitals prepared for tomorrow night’s series opener against President’s Cup winner Florida. Ovechkin has missed the last three games with an upper body injury.
The Stanley Cup playoffs begin tonight with four series on the slate. In the East, the Bruins visit the Hurricanes, while the two-time defending champion Lightning are in Toronto to take on the Maple Leafs. In the Western Conference, the Blues will battle the Wild in Minnesota, and the Kings clash with the Oilers in Edmonton.
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