CRANBERRY, Pa. -- The Rangers are going to present a number of challenges for the Penguins when their first-round series begins on Tuesday in New York.
They're a fast team, and they're a team that's able to produce a lot of offense off of the transition. They're backstopped by a likely Vezina winner and potential Hart finalist in Igor Shesterkin.
One of the biggest tasks for the Penguins this series will be shutting down the Rangers' very effective power play, which was No. 4 in the league in the regular season with a 25.2 percent success rate.
The Rangers' top power play unit features Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Adam Fox at the point, joined by forwards Mika Zibanejad, Ryan Strome, Artemi Panarin and Chris Kreider.
Krieder led all skaters in the regular season in power play goals with 26. Zibanejad wasn't far behind, finishing 10th in the league with 15 tallies on the man advantage. Many of those goals were set up by power play quarterback Fox, whose 33 power play assists led all defensemen in the league and finished one assist shy of Connor McDavid for the overall lead. Fox's ability to walk the blue line and be deceptive with his shots has paid off for the Rangers' power play.
The Rangers' power play was one of the most effective this season at just getting shots off and getting those pucks to the net. They average 86.18 unblocked shot attempts per 60 minutes of power play time, a rate that ranked fourth in the league. They averaged just under a shot on goal per minute of power play time during the regular season with 59.32 shots on goal per 60 minutes, a rate that ranked sixth in the league.
They were able to convert on many of those opportunities, too. The Rangers' team shooting percentage on the power play was 16.18 percent, the sixth-best average in the league. Their shooting percentage on high-danger shot attempts was the best in the league at 32.35 percent.
I asked Jeff Carter after Monday's practice in Cranberry what makes the Rangers so dangerous on the power play, and he said that the Rangers have a "highly-skilled" group, first and foremost.
"I think Fox back there being the quarterback of it, he's a highly-intelligent player," Carter said. "He reads the game really well up there. I think those guys feed off of him well, and then obviously with Kreider in front of the net, he's a big part of that with (26) power play goals. It'll be a big task for us."
Neutralizing the threat of Kreider at the net-front is something the Penguins' penalty killers are all focused on.
"I mean, (Kreider) is probably the best player in the league in front of the net," Letang said. " So that's a challenge that we face when he's out there. I think we have to pay attention to him. They're great players, they move the puck really well and they have good chemistry. We have to be ready for that."
Mike Sullivan called Kreider's season a "career year," and credited his net-front presence with being a big part of that.
"When you look at the types of goals that (Kreider) scored, a lot of them are a foot and a half in the blue paint," Sullivan said. "And I think Fox is one of the guys that helps deliver the puck there."
The Penguins are well aware of the challenges the Rangers present, especially on the man advantage. It's just a matter of executing.
"We know we have a big challenge ahead of us with respect to their power play," Sullivan said. "It's been one of the better power plays in the league. We're going to have to make sure we're locked in and we get the job done."
MORE FROM PRACTICE
• Jason Zucker skated with skills coach Ty Hennes and Lemieux Complex goaltending coach Mike Chiasson before practice, the first time Zucker has been on the ice since suffering a lower-body injury on April 26 against Edmonton.
"It's real significant," Sullivan said of Zucker taking that step. "There is a chance that his timetable could be accelerated. The fact that he's on the ice is a big step. We'll go from there. But we're certainly encouraged that he's back on the ice."
• The line combinations and defense pairings were the same as yesterday's practice:
Jake Guentzel - Sidney Crosby - Bryan Rust
Danton Heinen - Evgeni Malkin - Rickard Rakell
Brock McGinn - Jeff Carter - Kasperi Kapanen
Brian Boyle - Teddy Blueger - Evan Rodrigues(
Drew O'Connor)
Brian Dumoulin - Kris Letang
Mike Matheson - Chad Ruhwedel
Marcus Pettersson - John Marino
(Nathan Beaulieu - Mark Friedman)
• The power play units remained the same as well. The first power play was Letang, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust.
• The second power play was Mike Matheson, Evan Rodrigues, Rickard Rakell, Danton Heinen and Carter.
• Casey DeSmith doesn't have much playoff experience as a pro at all, just nine games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2015-16 and five games the following year in 2016-17. He's looking forward to making his NHL postseason debut in such an iconic arena in Madison Square Garden.
"I'm very excited," he said. "MSG is a great place to play. Obviously a ton of energy, a prestigious arena. I couldn't ask for a better road venue to get into it. There's going to be a lot of energy, it's going to help us come out hopefully with a lot of energy ourselves."
• It felt like a lighter mood at practice, with the big celebrations and smiles between drills. Guys are feeling good going into the postseason.
"We're confident," Guentzel said of the mood. "We know we have a good team. And if we play the right way and just stick to what we do, we're confident we can make some noise. So I think for us, we're just excited to play. It'll be nice just to watch tonight, and know we're ready to go tomorrow."
• Guentzel's looking to elevate his game this spring, after not living up to his own expectations the last three years. Guentzel scored just one goal in each of the three postseasons, combining for three goals and three assists over those 14 games.
"The last couple years haven't gone the team's way or my way," he said. "So I think for me, I'm excited to play playoff hockey. This is the best, it's what you dream about as a kid to play in these. I've just got to do my thing. Just got to stick to what I've done all year and feel good going into this playoffs. We'll see where it goes from here."
• Congratulations to Guentzel and his wife Natalie, who are expecting their first child this summer.
"Due in August, beginning of August," Guentzel said with a smile. "It's exciting. Just found out it's a little baby boy. It's exciting times, it's first time for this. It's kind of cool to see she's getting a little bigger now with the belly. So it's kind of cool."
• There were a lot of clean-shaven faces on the ice today, with players looking to start off with a clean slate before growing a playoff beard. One of the last steps in preparing for puck drop.