Schedule
All times are Eastern.
* – if necessary
Thursday April 12 in New York @ 7 p.m. (NHL Network, CBC)
Saturday April 14 in New York @ 7 p.m. (NBC Sports Network, CBC)
Monday April 16 in Ottawa @ 7:30 p.m. (CNBC, CBC)
Wednesday April 18 in Ottawa @ 7:30 p.m. (CNBC, CBC)
*Saturday April 21 in New York @ 7 p.m. (NBC Sports Network, CBC)
*Monday April 23 in Ottawa @ TBD (TBD)
*Thursday April 26 in New York @ TBD (TBD)
Three storylines to follow
1. Is Henrik Lundqvist going to be his Vezina-caliber self? For years, Lundqvist carried an inferior team to playoff berths and then wore down once the postseason rolled around. There’s a much better team in front of him and he’s as well-rested as he’s ever been in April, but his late-season injury and shaky tune-up game against Washington could be cause for concern.
2. Ottawa’s kiddie corps. Jared Cowen, Erik Karlsson, Kyle Turris, Nick Foligno, Colin Greening and Erik Condra are all 25 or younger and have almost no playoff experience to speak of (Foligno leads all, with 10 games.) How will they stack up against a well-coached, experienced and hard-nosed No. 1 seed?
3. Strength vs. strength: The Rangers are better than they’ve been in a long time on offense, but their identity still revolves around stout defense, all-world goaltending and relentless effort. Could an explosive Ottawa offense create just enough havoc to throw a balanced Rangers team ... out of balance?
Records
NY Rangers: 51-24-7, 109 points (1st in Atlantic; 1st in Eastern Conference) | Ottawa: 41-31-10, 92 points (2nd in Northeast; 8th in Eastern Conference)
Leading scorers
NY Rangers: Marian Gaborik (41G-35A-76PTS) | Ottawa: Jason Spezza (34G-50A-84PTS)
Starting goalies
NY Rangers: Henrik Lundqvist (39-18-5, 1.97 GAA) | Ottawa: Craig Anderson (33-22-6, 2.83 GAA)
Head-to-head
Ottawa won series 3-1
Oct. 29: Ottawa 5, at NY Rangers 4, SO
Nov. 9: NY Rangers 3, at Ottawa 2
Jan. 12: Ottawa 3, at NY Rangers 0
March 8: At Ottawa 4, NY Rangers 1
Last 10 games
NY Rangers: 6-4-0 | Ottawa: 4-6-0
Playoff history
First meeting
2011 playoffs
NY Rangers: Lost to Washington 4-1 (Eastern Conference quarterfinals) | Ottawa: Did not qualify
Stanley Cups
NY Rangers: 4 (1928, 1933, 1940, 1994) | Ottawa: None
Injuries
NY Rangers: Mats Zuccarello (wrist), Steve Eminger (ankle) and Michael Sauer (concussion). (Maybe Lundqvist’s arm, too?)
Ottawa: Chris Neil (upper body) and Peter Regin (shoulder).
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