Kostas Lymperopoulos/Landov
Henrik Lundqvist, who many believe will be the difference in this series, holds the advantage over Senators' Craig Anderson.
The difference between the Rangers and Senators begins with their veteran leadership.
The Rangers boast three players with Stanley Cup rings Ruslan Fedotenko (Tampa Bay 04, Pittsburgh 09), Brad Richards (Tampa Bay 04) and Mike Rupp (Devils 03). Senators defenseman Sergei Gonchar (Pittsburgh 09) is the only Ottawa player to have won a title.
IT TAKES MORE THAN HANK TO SAVE RANGERS
Meanwhile, th e Senators have three players with 97 or more playoff games in the bank Gonchar (118), captain Daniel Alfredsson (107) and defenseman Chris Phillips (97 games) while Fedotenko (88) is the most playoff-hardened Ranger.
RANKING THE STANLEY CUP CONTENDERS
Starting with the puck drop for Game 1 at the Garden Thursday night, that is just one of the key matchups that will define this first-round series between the No. 1 Rangers and No. 8 Senators:
FORWARDS
Rangers: The Blueshirts may be a sum of our parts team, as John Tortorella likes to say, but their scoring is top-heavy. Marian Gaborik (41 goals), Ryan Callahan (29) and Brad Richards (25) potted 95 of the Rangers 222 goals in the regular season, accounting for 42.8 of their offense. Brian Boyle has chipped in scoring from the checking lines lately, and all of the forwards are fearless shot -blockers. But they will need more from the likes of Brandon Dubinsky and p laymaker Derek Stepan. Who knows? Maybe rookie Chris Kreider will burst onto the scene.
Senators: Ottawa also has a big three of Milan Michalek (35 goals), Jason Spezza (34) and captain Daniel Alfredsson (27), who have scored 96 of the Sens 243 goals (39.5). The difference is Spezza, the most dominant forward on either team during their four-game regular season series, when the Rangers went 1-2-1. Spezza led both teams with five goals and six points centering Michalek and Colin Greening. Also watch out for Kyle Turris, a midseason acquisition from Phoenix who had 29 points in 49 games.
Advantage: Senators
DEFENSEMEN
Rangers: This unit has two All-Stars in Marc Staal (11) and Dan Girardi (12) and a future one in Ryan McDonagh, 22. Playing on the teams top pair, Girardi (185 blocked shots, fifth in NHL) and McDonagh (182, eighth) both finished in the top 10 of a category that embodies this teams Bl ack and Blueshirt identity. Staal missed the first 36 games with concussion symptoms but has come on strong late in the season. A key factor, though, will be whether Michael Del Zotto who has yet to experience a playoff game will be able to level out his game and consistently be reliable with the puck in the defensive end.
Senators: Ottawa is the only team in the NHLs bottom eight of goals-against to make the playoffs. Thats because allowing 236 goals (2.88 per game) is a recipe for disaster. While 21-year-old defenseman Erik Karlsson had an All-Star season (19 goals, 59 assists), this group is unreliable and old. The average age of the Senators defense is 29, with four players 31 or older. Compare that to an average of 25 for the Rangers defense, which does not include a single player over 28. The Senators experience on the blueline centers on Gonchar and Phillips, but it also could mean a less durable unit during a physical series.
0 comments on Goaltending and grit separate Rangers from Senator... :
Post a Comment