How the Rangers are getting into their heads. How the series is turning.
Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik’s succinct analysis following the team’s hour-long practice Saturday: What series is everyone watching? “I was kind of laughing about it, everybody is panicking—not in our room — but you hear all these people saying, `I don’t know now, I don’t know now,”’ Orpik said. “If we had lost the first game (in New York), then won the second one coming back with the same lead in the series, I think everyone would have a different outlook on it.” Pittsburgh is 15-5 against the money line revenging a road blowout loss versus opponent by three goals or more over the last two seasons.

Coach Michel Therrien kept the theme going, saying a team that went through everything the Penguins have experienced—losing star Sidney Crosby to injury for two months and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury for three—isn’t going to collapse following one road loss, which has been proven with the Penguins 15-5 off a road loss this season.

“After losing our captain, not a lot of people were believing we were going to make the playoffs,” Therrien said. “That was adversity. After four games, leading 3-1, its a little adversity, but we feel comfortable playing at home in front of our fans. … This team has always bounced back after a loss.” Pittsburgh is 10-4 after scoring one goal or less in their previous game for the entire year.

Therrien agreed the Penguins became too frustrated in Game 4, when they couldn’t score on 29 shots and repeatedly took bad penalties. Still, Therrien answered repeated questions about how Crosby will react to his worst game of the postseason with a veiled prediction.

“I have only one answer: You’ll see tomorrow (Sunday),” he said.

The Rangers, who practiced at home before leaving for Pittsburgh on Saturday, are trying to keep the “we-can-do-this” theme going—despite the Penguins’ 12-game home-ice winning streak and 7-1 playoff record.
They’re talking confidently about stealing Game 5, which would shift more pressure onto the youthful Penguins—especially with no days off—for Game 6 in Madison Square Garden on Monday night. It’s worth noting the Rangers are 6-1 with two days between games like today.
“They won three games, but they didn’t win anything yet,” Jaromir Jagr said.

There’s one quirky twist the Rangers can point to if they’re looking for hope. It’s been 33 years since an NHL team rallied from a 3-0 deficit—the Islanders did it against the Penguins in 1975. Before that, it had been—yes, that number again—33 years since the only other time it was done, by the Maple Leafs against the Red Wings in 1942.

Jagr, who had two goals in Game 4, is already speculating what such a comeback might do for New York in the Eastern Conference finals. “How much confidence would it give you if you do it, for the next round? That would be probably huge,” Jagr said. “Then you would go to the (next) series with a 1-0 lead already.” While this plays well in the media, the fact remains, the Rangers are 6-13 ATS in road games after playing a game where four or fewer total goals were scored this season.

“We knew we weren’t going to win them all,” Fleury said. “They’re fighting for their lives, and we want to finish them off.”

The Penguins haven’t won a series at home since a Game 6 win against Washington in 2001, when Jagr and Mario Lemieux were their stars, not Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Jagr knows how tough it can be for a playoff opponent to win in Mellon Arena, and he said taking Game 5 is likely to be even tougher than winning a possible Game 7 there on Wednesday. “It’s going to be the hardest one,” he said.

Rangers coach Tom Renney doesn’t disagree but said, “We’re certainly carrying ourselves as though we’re confident we can win the next one. … The guys understand that we want to play here (in New York) on Monday night.”

Pittsburgh is a -170 home favorite to advance to East Finals, to meet in-state rival Philadelphia, with total at Ov5 at Sportsbook.com. Like the Rangers, the Penguins have been crisp after a couple days to rest with 14-4 mark and are 11-3 when favored in the -150 to -200 range of late.
To avoid that return trip, the Penguins need to convert some of the numerous scoring chances they’re getting against goalie Henrik Lundqvist, keep their stars out of the penalty box and feed off what should be a loud and motivating crowd.

“I don’t think we’re concerned about the series (lead) or what they’re going to do, it’s what we have to do,” Crosby said. “That’s all we worry about. We take a lot of pride in playing at home.”

NBC will provide the coverage starting just after 2 Eastern, with the favorite having won 80 percent of the last 15 meetings (12-3).