PITTSBURGH VS. NY RANGERS
49-23-8 35-34-11
106 Pts 81 Pts
1st in East 8th in East
REGULAR SEASON STATS
TEAM STATS
15.9% (9th) PP% 16.9% (5th)
87.5% (5th) PK% 89.1% (2nd)
16.9 (18th) PIM/G 17.8 (14th)
3.56 (2nd) GF/G 3.04 (15th)
2.64 (7th) GA/G 2.88 (16th)
29.4 (3rd) SF/G 26.3 (21st)
24.4 (1st) SA/G 27.2 (18th)
TOP 3 POINT SCORERS
C Modano (34-55-89) 1 C Briere (36-40-76)
RW Alfredsson (22-47-69) 2 RW St. Louis (31-45-76)
RW Kovalchuk (30-38-68) 3 C Roenick (20-39-59)
TOP 3 GOAL SCORERS
C Modano (34) 1 C Briere (36)
RW Kovalchuk (30) 2 RW St. Louis (31)
C Weight (29) 3 C Roenick (20)
TOP 3 PLUS/MINUS
C Modano +35 1 LW Worrell +8
D Jovanovski +26 2 C Briere +8
RW Kovalchuk +21  3 D Zhitnik +6
TOP GOALTENDER
Giguere Weekes
2.46 GAA 2.86
.900 SV% .892
33-15-4 W-L-T 20-20-5
4 SO 3

SEASON SERIES STATS
RESULTS
  Pittsburgh Wins Series 2-0-0
PIT, 3 Game 1 NYR, 2
PIT, 5 Game 2 NYR, 4
TEAM STATS
18.18% PP% 18.18%
81.82% PK% 81.82%
28 PIM/G 30.5
4 GF/G 3
3 GA/G 4
26.5 SF/G 24.0
24.0 SA/G 26.5
TOP 3 POINT SCORERS
C Weight (0-3-3) 1 D Zhitnik (0-2-2)
D Rafalski (2-0-2) 2 RW St. Louis (1-1-2)
RW Langenbrunner (1-1-2) 3 RW Bure (1-1-2)
BREAKDOWN
FORWARDS

With a mix of superstar level talent and grinders that know their role, Pittsburgh has the pronounced edge in this department. Mike Modano, Doug Weight, and Chris Drury down the middle is probably the best combination in all of the CTCHL. Erik Cole, Chris Drury, and Todd Bertuzzi also have had a certain amount of playoff success on this level. Dave Andreychuk and Jere Lehtinen add experience and a phenomenal defensive presence. Ilya Kovalchuk is the wildcard of this series. With 30 goals in the regular season, it will be time to see if Kovalchuk can carry that level of play into the postseason where the goals don’t come as easily.
WINNER		 In a word I’d describe the New York forwards as one thing: undersized. While this isn’t the only measure of a forward, it certainly doesn’t help in playoff hockey to be short in stature. Martin St. Louis is an absolute wizard with the puck, but he’s only so much of a man standing just less than six feet. Daniel Briere is also small in stature. Just as well is Pavel Bure. While these men are certainly offensive stars in this league, that is speaking in terms of the regular season. If New York is to have any success, it’s going to have to come with skating down the big and heavy defense of the Penguins squad and hoping that they can keep their legs moving and be productive. Maxim Afinogenov needs to be productive here as well.

DEFENSE
The blueline for Pittsburgh is just as strong if not stronger than the forwards. Jovanovski and Rafalski are the more offensive stars of this team, while Aucoin and Norstrom provide the hard-nosed defensive zone coverage that has made Pittsburgh dangerous all season long. These men should continue their fantastic play into the post season. Bouwmeester and Morris provide the youthful exuberance that will be needed in the playoffs as well. Pittsburgh has one of the best overall rosters in the entire league, and it all starts on the back end with this wonderful mix of defenseman.
WINNER		 This is a fantastic group of defenseman on this team, but they’re not quite as deep on the blueline as the Penguins. With proven playoff performers like Scott Stevens and Brian Leetch, it’s going to be interesting to see how they compliment the forwards on the offensive end of the ice. We know how well both of these men play in the playoffs, but they’re going to have to be that much better in order for New York to advance into the second round of the playoffs this year.
PIT PP vs. NYR PK
The Penguins certainly have no shortage of weapons on the offensive end of the ice. Doug Weight is going to be the catalyst for any success that is to be had on the Power Play though, in my opinion. Mike Modano is going to be seeing a significant amount of ice time in both special teams scenarios and he’s going to tire quickly. Doug Weight and the second unit must find a way to crack through the defense of Roenick and negate Martin St. Louis as a shorthanded threat. His speed alone is enough to send a Power Play into oblivion.
WINNER		 Martin St. Louis can’t be on the ice all the time. If you want him in other situations, he’s going to have to stay fresh in order for the Rangers to be able to utilize him in other situations. The bad part of this is that the Rangers don’t have much defensive depth at the forward position. With the strong attack of the Pittsburgh team, it’s going to get ugly really fast if this penalty kill can’t get their hands around this situation really quickly. I’m not betting my money on that possibility.
NYR PP vs. PIT PK
Pittsburgh has numerous weapons at their disposal on the penalty kill and those names will need to perform like they have in the past in order for the Penguins to stop this aggressive Power Play attack of the New York Rangers. Bure alone can be a handful on the Power Play if he isn’t checked and negated. Lehtinen, Andreychuk, and Cole really have to step up in this situation along with Mike Modano in order for Pittsburgh to stay away from this potent Ranger attack. Discipline is also a key, because the Rangers do a majority of their scoring with the man advantage. This is a place where I feel that New York has the slight advantage. Brian Leetch is a legitimate power play quarterback that can produce tons of points when he is playing on top of his game and Pavel Bure is a finisher like none other in the CTCHL. While the undersized forwards may not be good for even strength situations, they get the chance to show off their supreme talent with the man advantage and make hell for their opponents on this type of situation. Once again, this power play attack is going to have to be productive around the twenty percent clip in order for the Rangers to steal a few games from the mighty Penguins.
GOALTENDING
Giguere is a brick wall. There is nothing more or less than can be said about him in regards to the playoffs on his fantastic track record with putting up great games in pressurized situations. Will he be able to put up a repeat performance? Nobody can really say that for sure. I’m placing my money on the fact that he’ll be able to do it again.
WINNER		 New York employs more of a 1a and 1b type system with Johan Hedberg and Kevin Weekes. While this type of scenario may work out during the regular season, it gives the edge to Pittsburgh that neither has played in a solid starter role for the entire season. Who will be the starter come the first game of the series? Who will be the starter at the last of the series? These are questions that need to be answered with this team that doesn’t have a solid base in goaltending. Perhaps one day both of these players will be CTCHL stars, but right now the clear edge goes to the team with the solid goaltender.
COACHING
Craig Hartsburgh, while relatively unknown to most of the hockey world and the big name coaches, has done a fantastic job this season with this star studded Penguins squad. Will he have what it takes to put this team over the top? That has yet to be seen. Hartsburgh is known as a offensive styled coach and that fits his personnel pretty well, so it should be pretty interesting to see what kind of intensity that he can bring to the table when dealing with these Rangers.
WINNER		 Ron Low is a crafty veteran coach who always stresses the importance of the offensive side of the game while not neglecting the defensive responsibilities of the players. His experience at this level is not matched by the man behind the bench in Pittsburgh and that is the most clearly defined advantage that the Rangers have to grasp onto. It wouldn’t be the first time that great coaching has taken a series.
PREDICTION

WINNER IN 6!