Penguins vs Rangers

NEW YORK -- The Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers will decide their Eastern Conference Second Round series on Tuesday night in Game 7 at Pittsburgh's CONSOL Energy Center (7 p.m., ET, NBCSN, CBC, RDS). The winner will advance to the Eastern Conference Final and face the winner of the Second Round series between the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens.

These teams have never met in a series-deciding showdown but are no strangers to Game 7s in recent years.

The Rangers will be contesting a Game 7 for the fifth time in their past seven playoff series since 2012. Having eliminated the Philadelphia Flyers in seven games in the First Round, New York will attempt to post Game 7 wins in consecutive series for the second time in that span; they defeated the Ottawa Senators and Washington Capitals in the 2012 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals and Semifinals, respectively.

GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- If Game 7 is becoming old hat to the New York Rangers, winning them isn't.

The Rangers will be looking for their fifth straight Game 7 victory since 2012 when they face the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday at Consol Energy Center (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, RDS). It's their sixth Game 7 in their past nine Stanley Cup Playoff series dating back to 2009.

New York previously beat the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 7 on April 30 to advance to play the Penguins in the Eastern Conference Second Round series.

"We have a lot of guys in the room that enjoy the challenge and just the excitement of it," Rangers defenseman Marc Staal said. "I feel like everyone doesn't really feel the pressure of Game 7 because either you play your best or you're going home. You kind of just get to leave it all out there and see what happens. We've had some big moments and big plays at key times in other Game 7s, and that's what it takes."

NEW YORK -- The Pittsburgh Penguins haven't fared too well when forced to close out a series in a Game 7 on home ice in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in recent years.

They'll need to do that Tuesday in order to advance to the Eastern Conference Final.

The Penguins appeared to unravel at the most inopportune times, taking undisciplined penalties and getting caught up in a few unnecessary skirmishes, on the way to a 3-1 loss against the New York Rangers in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference Second Round series at Madison Square Garden on Sunday night. What once was a 3-1 lead in this best-of 7 series is completely gone after the Penguins dropped their second straight game.

Pittsburgh will host New York in a winner-take-all finale Tuesday at Consol Energy Center (7 p.m. ET; CBC, RDS, NBCSN).

Among the nine penalties called against the Penguins, three were roughing minors. There was also one for too many men, and James Neal received a 10-minute misconduct with 10 seconds remaining in regulation.

"Frustration is a tricky word; if it leads to uncharacteristic things, like uncharacteristic play and penalties, then it's bad," Penguins defenseman Matt Niskanen said. "But you saw we had real desperation to be aggressive and go after them.

"Our compete level was really high when we were down 2-0. We had a really good push in the second half of the first period and were battling like heck to get back in the hockey game and couldn't score. We were pushing really hard and [Marc-Andre Fleury] played well the rest of the game. We need a better start so we don't cross that bridge again. We need to just lay it all on the line."

NEW YORK -- New York Rangers forward Martin St. Louis opened the scoring 3:34 into Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Second Round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins when the puck skipped off his right leg and past goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.

The moment couldn't have been scripted any better.

The play took place on Mother's Day, three days after St. Louis' mother, France, died suddenly. With his father, Normand, and sister, Isabelle, in attendance at Madison Square Garden, St. Louis celebrated the game's first goal by rushing toward the right corner in an unbridled show of passion.

It was a special moment for a special player.

"The whole organization, the boys, everybody has been so supportive and really playing their hearts out," St. Louis said. "I think the boys are happy for me, no doubt. We just kept rolling in the first period. We were playing with a lot of emotion."

New York Rangers center Brad Richards ideally would be playing a Stanley Cup Playoff game on Mother's Day knowing none of his teammates, let alone close friend Martin St. Louis, is dealing with any type of personal tragedy or hardship.

Because reality doesn't meet Richards' wishes, he said the Rangers should again try to keep their season going by using the emotional lift of having St. Louis in the lineup, this time for Game 6 against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday, days after the sudden passing of his mother, France.

The Penguins lead the best-of-7 Eastern Conference Second Round series 3-2. St. Louis was in the lineup for Game 5 on Friday, a 5-1 Rangers' win, after his 63-year-old mother died of a heart attack Thursday.

PITTSBURGH -- The New York Rangers weren't expecting to see forward Martin St. Louis when they took the ice for Game 5 of their Eastern Conference Second Round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday.

But one day after the death of his mother, France, St. Louis rejoined the Rangers here. He had one shot on goal in 16:19 of ice time, but it was his presence that inspired them to a 5-1 win that extended the series.

St. Louis learned of the death of his 63-year-old mother Thursday when the Rangers arrived in Pittsburgh. He immediately left to join his family in Montreal. After spending time there and talking with his father, St. Louis returned here Friday.

"I know deep down my mother would have wanted me to play this game," St. Louis said. "She'd be proud of me coming here to help as much as I can. ... She was a great lady, best human being I've known in my life. I owed it to her to do it. I know she would want me to do it."

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins did the opposite of what coach Dan Bylsma preached during the past two days.

Bylsma said repeatedly that the Penguins could not allow the New York Rangers "any breath, any life" in Game 5 of their best-of-7 Eastern Conference Second Round series. Instead, the Rangers are very much alive after a 5-1 victory Friday. They trail 3-2 and can even the series by winning Game 6 at Madison Square Garden on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, RDS).

After a desultory effort in a Game 4 loss to Pittsburgh at home on Wednesday, the Rangers came out from the opening faceoff with the kind of desperation Bylsma had warned his team about -- and the Penguins didn't match it.

For additional insight into the Stanley Cup Playoff series between the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins, NHL.com has enlisted the help of former NHL assistant coach Gord Murphy to break down the action. Murphy will be checking in throughout the series.

Murphy enjoyed a 14-season career as an NHL defenseman before spending seven seasons as an assistant coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets and most recently serving as an assistant coach with the Florida Panthers.

After watching four games of the Eastern Conference Second Round series between the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers, longtime NHL assistant coach Gord Murphy says the most impressive part of the series has been how the Penguins have used speed to their advantage against a Rangers team that is starting to look fatigued.

PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Paul Martin is quiet.

On and off the ice, Martin does not command attention in the same way as Penguins forwards Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, or even fellow defenseman Kris Letang. But he has possibly been Pittsburgh's most consistent performer entering Game 5 of its Eastern Conference Second Round series against the New York Rangers at Consol Energy Center on Friday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, RDS).

"Paul's play is understated at best," Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said. "He's not dynamic, not attention-grabbing, but he's been every bit of a shutdown guy for our team in every situation, playing against other teams' top guys, and he's done really an outstanding job for us throughout these playoffs."

NEW YORK -- The confidence the New York Rangers felt after outshooting the Pittsburgh Penguins 35-15 during their Game 3 loss in the Eastern Conference Second Round series was nowhere to be found following a 4-2 loss in Game 4 Wednesday at Madison Square Garden.

The Rangers head to Pittsburgh trailing 3-1 in the best-of-7 series and will see their season end unless they win Game 5 on Friday night (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN. CBC, RDS).

To do so, they'll have to be a lot better than they were Wednesday. Game 4 seemed to be an endless series of costly errors and lost opportunities. Even when the Rangers did manage to get back into this must-win game, they couldn't get out of their own way.

"It was a combination of them being real good and us picking a bad night in the playoffs to have a bad game," coach Alain Vigneault said. "I don't want to take any credit away from Pittsburgh, but our puck management tonight and our execution weren't very good and ultimately cost us the game."