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Rangers vs. Penguins: 3 things you need to know

Charles LeClaire / USA Today

The Presidents' Trophy-winning New York Rangers will face the Pittsburgh Penguins in the opening round after Pittsburgh stumbled into the playoffs with a 1-4-1 record in April. The Rangers and the Penguins met in the second round last season, when New York rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win the series in seven games.

Here's what you need to know about the latest battle between these Metropolitan Division foes:

Life without Letang

A big part of why the Penguins went into a tailspin in April and didn't clinch a playoff berth until the final day of the regular season was the absence of defenseman Kris Letang.

Letang suffered a concussion at the end of March and is not expected to return even if Pittsburgh makes a lengthy playoff run. Unfortunately for the Penguins, a lengthy run seems highly unlikely without their top blue-liner.

Letang leads the team in time on ice in even-strength and power-play situations and is also one of Pittsburgh's top penalty killers. His 54 points in 69 games make him the only Penguins defenseman with more than 20. Simply put: No other player on Pittsburgh's roster is capable of filling his role.

(Courtesy: War-on-ice)

Olli Maatta is the closest the Penguins have to a Letang replacement, and his season ended in January due to shoulder surgery. Derrick Pouliot does not appear ready to assume a larger role - especially in the playoffs - and it's wishful to expect an offensive outburst from one of Paul Martin, Ben Lovejoy or Christian Ehrhoff.

Nash out of gas?

Rick Nash was a footnote in New York's run to the Stanley Cup Final last season, scoring three times in 25 games after posting his lowest full-season goal total since his rookie year.

The 30-year-old with a cap hit just shy of $8 million seemed to be heading towards a similar fate as former teammate Brad Richards, whose massive contract was bought out last offseason. But Nash entered 2014-15 in excellent condition and went on to set a new career-high with 42 goals, putting to bed any fears his declining production was here to stay.

Or so it seemed. Nash's gaudy goal total obscures a recent slump that should concern Rangers fans. He has five goals in 16 games since the end of February and missed the season finale due to an undisclosed injury, which could linger into the playoffs.

"The chances were there, the momentum swings," Nash told NHL.com about last year's psotseason. "I think about some of the games and I was playing pretty good hockey, but it's a bounce here and a bounce there that could have changed everything."

Nash will need the bounces to start going his way again against Pittsburgh, because the only way to put last year behind him is to score early and often.

Fleury vs. Lundqvist

Considering the wealth of offensive firepower on both team's rosters, this series could come down to two players: Marc-Andre Fleury and Henrik Lundqvist.

Fleury's playoff record was becoming a major point of concern for the Penguins following three consecutive first-round exits, but he was solid last postseason and became arguably the team's top performer during the 2014-15 season, posting a career-high 10 shutouts along with his best full-season save percentage.

Fleury credits his teammates for playing better defense, but it does appear as though the 30-year-old netminder has reached a new level of maturity that could translate into playoff success.

As for Lundqvist, the Rangers goaltender has regained his elite form since returning from a neck injury. His 2.24 goals-against average and .922 save percentage in 92 playoff appearances speak volumes about his postseason performance, and New York will be expecting more of the same against Pittsburgh.

Should Lundqvist struggle, the Rangers could turn to Cam Talbot, who was 16-4-3 in net for New York during Lundqvist's injury absence.

Series schedule

Date Time (EST) Location Networks
Thursday April 16 7 p.m. New York NBCSN; CBC; TVA Sports
Saturday April 18 8 p.m. New York NBC; CBC; TVA Sports
Monday April 20 7 p.m. Pittsburgh NBCSN; CBC; TVA Sports
Wednesday April 22 7 p.m. Pittsburgh NBCSN; SN 360; TVA Sports
*Friday April 24 TBD New York TBD
*Sunday April 26 TBD Pittsburgh TBD
*Tuesday April 28 TBD New York TBD

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