Season series: The Rangers took three of four.
Playoff history: They’ve met five times since 1989. The most recent came in the second round last year, when the Rangers upset the top-seeded Penguins on their way to a conference title.
Dominant narrative: After years of elite status, the Penguins are plummeting their way toward an inevitable reset, and now here come the powerhouse Rangers to deliver the fatal blow.
In this corner: Pittsburgh Penguins (43-27-12, 98 points, plus-13 goals differential)
The big question: What the hell happened to them over the past few months, and is there any chance that they’ve fixed it? As recently as a month ago, the Penguins seemed fine. Not great, certainly not dominant, and falling behind the Rangers in the chase for the Metro’s top seed, but fine as far as playoff teams went. Then they limped their way to a 4-9-2 finish and nearly missed the playoffs. They were awful. Or were they? Hold that thought.
.And in this corner: New York Rangers (53-22-7, 113 points, plus-61 goals differential)
The big question: Who’s going to stop these guys? The Rangers went to the Cup final last season, then got off to a slow start this year. But once they got going, they rolled through the East, climbing the standings and eventually winning the Presidents’ Trophy. That makes them this year’s odds-on favorite. In a year when nobody seems to know what to expect, that may or may not be a good thing.
Prediction: The Rangers will win in six, but it’s not easy.
http://grantland.com/the-triangle/nhl-e ... f-preview/
