Pens Points: Pens Open in New York

Well here we are. Game 1 on tap tonight. Here is your series preview. [PPG]

Here are some individual player match-ups that Pittsburgh can take advantage of. [HockeyBuzz]

Martin, Scuderi, Cole and Lovejoy. The Pens will have to rely on veteran defensemen in this playoff series. [Penguins]

Christian Ehrhoff will not play in game 1, but is day-to-day and could return at some point in the series. [Trib]

On the Rangers side, Rick Nash is good do go, Kevin Klein will not play in game 1. [New York Rangers]

With only 6 and 2 playoff games on their resume, Blake Comeau and Ian Cole are eager to go. Have at it, boys. [Trib]

Mike Johnston. Cerebral, courteous and soft-spoken, but quietly driven. Against all odds he finally got a big-time chance to coach an NHL team and in NHL playoffs. Will he prove he belongs here? [PPG]

And if the Pens get eliminated early, how serious are the changes the club could see in the offseason? Could this be the last go-round with the current group? It's hard for me to picture that. [Trib]

The Penguins and the city announced there will be large outdoor screens for viewing Penguins home games Monday in Market Square and Wednesday at PPG Place. [Penguins]

There will be a new kind of vending machine at Consol - a Twitter vending machine no less. Demonstrated by Super Duper, it will dispense all kinds of cool things including autographed items and player equipment. [Penguins]

The playoffs actually kicked off last night and I enjoyed a carefree night of wild hockey. In Montreal, PK Subban did the most PK Subban thing ever, with a totally reckless slash on Mark Stone, leading to a game misconduct. This series will be a bloodbath. [Sportsnet]

In Washington, Matt Niskanen was on the ice for all 4 goal against and the Islanders were off to the races.[Washington Post]

In Nashville, the Predators blew a 3-0 lead and lost 4-3 in double OT. You know how this one is going to end, don't you. [Sportsnet]

And over in Vancouver, Kris Russell struck 30 seconds before end of regulation to break the 1-1 tie and win game 1 for Calgary. Deryk Engelland played 20:15 in a playoff game. [NHL.com]