52-24-6

Three weeks ago the Rangers clinched a playoff spot.

Last night, by beating Washington 3-2, the Rangers officially ended the season with 110 points and landed the Penguins as the first-round opponent. The Rangers finished second in the Metropolitan division, Carolina in first, Pittsburgh 3rd, Washington 4th.

In the regular season, the Rangers won the series 3-1. The momentum, series-wise and season wise are I think on the Rangers’ side. But that doesn’t mean the Penguins are a gimme. Tons of playoff experience (this will be the first round for many NY players) and the Crosby, Malkin, Letang wave will be in full effect. They have a lot to prove in these playoffs. They got bounced in the first round in the last three seasons. They had a rockier season than expected. And this could be their last go together, many think the team could be restructured over the coming off-season.

I’m obviously leaning toward a Rangers win here. I think they could do it in 5 games if the trend of the regular season continues. The Penguins have to address more issues than the Rangers do. But the Rangers have to play with as few mistakes as possible to keep the Penguins off their game. I wouldn’t be surprised if this went 7 games out of the sheer passion for the rivalry. These teams have played against each other in the playoffs 7 times with Pittsburgh winning 5 of them. Are these Rangers the true superior team? That’s what we will find out next week.

These playoffs are stacked. Odds are the teams that truly don’t belong will get bounced in the first round (I could see LA being the dark horse but St. Louis is probably the sleeper) and round two will be all killers that could have every series go the distance. The front runners are Florida and Carolina. I see Calgary going very far. Tampa Bay is going for Cup number 3 and while they didn’t dominate like this season, it’s hard to believe they won’t go far (which has happened a few times).

There are so many variables at play in every series that it’s hard to make accurate decisions, but from start to finish this should be the best playoffs in years.