It seems like such a long time ago the Rangers eliminated the Devils in the first round, but finally we now know who they will play in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

With the Philadelphia Flyers overtime win in Washington, the Blueshirts will open Round 2 on Friday in Pittsburgh in what is expected to be the marquee matchup in the second round.

During the season, the Rangers went 5-3 against the Penguins, including a 4-0 record at the Garden. It will be interesting to see what Tom Renney has planned for this matchup. Does he dress Colton Orr to go against the Sidney Crosby and Marian Hossa line with Blair Betts and Ryan Hollweg? How will Jaromir Jagr react by getting booed in Pittsburgh every time he touches the puck? Can the Blueshirts shut down the high scoring Penguin offense and also get through to Marc-Andre Fleury?

Of course Renney has been planning this for the past week, since it looked like Pittsburgh would be New York’s next opponent, but still the questions are there.

On the Penguins side, they have to answer a few questions too. Can they get into this series after being off more than a week? Since they were not really tested in the first round, will they be ready for the better equipped Rangers? And can they solve Vezina finalist Henrik Lundqvist, who may be the best goalie left in the East?

It all will come to a head on Friday at 7 p.m. for Game 1 in Pittsburgh with Game 2 on Sunday at 2 p.m., which is on NBC. The series then shifts to the Garden for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Thursday of next week, each game at 7 p.m. Then, if necessary Game 5 is on Sunday, May 4 at 2 p.m. [NBC] at the Mellon Arena, Games 6 is on Monday, May 5 at 7p.m. at the Garden and if the series goes seven it will be played on Wednesday, May 7 with a time to be determined.

  E-mail this story |  Printer-friendly |  Discuss