#4 BOSTON vs. # 6 NY RANGERS
How Boston got here: By the skin of their teeth, basically. The Bruins needed a momentous third period collapse on the part of the young and inexperienced Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 7 of their first-round showdown and were outplayed for large portions of the series. But they get full credit for showing veteran backbone and continuing to believe in themselves – and they wouldn’t be facing the Rangers without goalie Tuukka Rask playing spectacularly and bailing out an often lackadaisical group of teammates in front of him.
How the Rangers got here: By continuing to suffocate their opponents with defense as they did most of the regular season. The Blueshirts were able to overcome a 3-2 series deficit against the Washington Capitals because star goalie Henrik Lundqvist did not allow a goal in the final 120 minutes and because their offense woke up in time for a 5-0 Game 7 blowout win.
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Offense: In the first six games of their series with Washington, the Rangers scored just 11 goals. Game 7 aside, they’re not about to blow out teams with waves of scoring. The Bruins scored 22 goals against the Leafs and have more impressive offensive depth and talent than do the Blueshirts. EDGE: Boston
Defense: The Rangers allowed just 12 goals in the first round, ranking them behind only L.A. (1.67) and Chicago (1.40) among playoff teams. Thanks to players such as Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh, they’re a shot-blocking, physical menace on the puck. The Bruins are banged-up and much thinner on the back end, even though they have the most physical force of the series in Zdeno Chara. EDGE: New York
Goaltending: You could make the argument both Lundqvist and Rask were the series MVPs for their teams in the first round. But Lundvist’s numbers (including a 1.65 goals-against average and .947 save percentage) are better than Rask’s (2.49 GAA, .923 SP) were better for a reason: Lundqvist was more consistent. EDGE: New York
Special Teams: The Rangers’ power play was an abysmal 7.1 percent (2 for 28) against Washington and their penalty kill wasn’t much better (81.2 percent, good for ninth among all post-season teams). The Bruins PK was worse (11th-best at 76.2 percent), but Boston’s power play was better (also 11th-best at 15.0 percent). It’s a very slight edge, but it goes to the Bruins. EDGE: Boston
Prediction: This series features two different types of veteran teams – the accomplished Bruins against the desperate-to-be-accomplished Rangers. The Bruins had a tough enough time against the inexperienced Leafs, but they won’t have that luxury against a Blueshirts squad that has a bona fide, prime-of-his-career superstar in net. Boston isn’t about to roll over, but Toronto took a good bite out of them and that means a long, physical series favors the men from Manhattan. RANGERS in 7
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