Bruins vs Red Wings

GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- New York Rangers forward Rick Nash missed practice Wednesday because of the flu, a team spokesperson said.

Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said he expects Nash will be able to play Thursday in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Madison Square Garden (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVA, ROOT, MSG).

"He'll be fine [Thursday]," Vigneault said. "He just wasn't feeling well."

PITTSBURGH -- Mike Johnston never has been a coach in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and doesn't want his first trip to end prematurely.

After an inconsistent first regular season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Johnston will lead them into Game 1 of their Eastern Conference First Round series against the New York Rangers on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports, ROOT, MSG). Pittsburgh limped to the playoffs in a way they hadn't experienced under Dan Bylsma and Michel Therrien, who each led Pittsburgh to the Stanley Cup Final, with Bylsma winning a championship in 2009.

Johnston said he isn't looking at the success his predecessors brought to the organization. He's looking at Thursday.

GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist isn't ready to say it yet, but the vascular injury to his neck and subsequent seven-week absence from early February to late March could turn into one of the best things to happen to him and the New York Rangers this season.

"We'll see; ask me in two months," Lundqvist said Tuesday. "Hopefully we can play for a long time and then I'm positive that it will help me."

Lundqvist said he feels fresh physically and mentally entering the Stanley Cup Playoffs, which open for the Rangers on Thursday at Madison Square Garden in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round against the Pittsburgh Penguins (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports, ROOT, MSG).

NEW YORK -- The New York Rangers were reconfigured after losing the 2014 Stanley Cup Final in five games to the Los Angeles Kings. Depth at certain positions, center in particular, was a big question following the departures of Brad Richards and Brian Boyle.

One of the replacements was Kevin Hayes, who won a national championship in 2012 and was a 2014 Hobey Baker Award finalist during his four seasons at Boston College. The No. 24 pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2010 NHL Draft, Hayes signed with the Rangers as a free agent after he could not agree to a contract with the Blackhawks.

Hayes excelled in college as a wing, but he broke camp with the Rangers slotted in as third-line center. The requisite adjustment period led to a slow start; he had 15 points in his first 40 games before blossoming into an integral part of the Rangers, who won the Presidents' Trophy.

PITTSBURGH – Sidney Crosby is aware of what happened a year ago. He doesn't think it matters.

The New York Rangers defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Second Round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs after trailing the series, 3-1. The series loss led to sweeping change throughout the Penguins organization, from a new general manager and coach to a retooled roster.

Crosby has gone back and watched tape from that series. Other Penguins, such as defenseman Ben Lovejoy, have said it hasn't been mentioned in the locker room. Either way, the Penguins hope the outcome can be different when they play the Rangers in the Eastern Conference First Round, starting with Game 1 at Madison Square Garden on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, ROOT, MSG).

Whether the series last year has been widely discussed amongst the Penguins or not, Crosby thinks they can learn a few lessons to avoid an early exit this time.

The New York Rangers are better suited to win the Stanley Cup this season because they're faster and more skilled than they were last season, when they went to the Stanley Cup Final. This is the best Rangers team since the 1993-94 season, when they last won the Cup.

Everything the Rangers do starts with speed. It fuels their overall game. They are arguably the fastest team in the NHL from front to back.

New York pushes the pace to create odd-man opportunities off the rush with quick puck movement. It puts the opponent on its heels. When the Rangers do that, it allows coach Alain Vigneault to roll four lines and three defense pairs, keeping everybody into the game and fresh.

Though the Pittsburgh Penguins didn't make it to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the fashion most expected, the pieces are in place to make a deep run for their second championship since 2009.

Centers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin give the Penguins arguably the two best players on the planet. Game-changing talents, Crosby and Malkin force coaches to decide which one to use their top defensemen against. When they're healthy (Malkin recently returned from a lower-body injury), Crosby and Malkin pace the offense. Malkin is a former Conn Smythe Trophy winner and has 111 points in 96 Stanley Cup Playoff games. If he's at or near 100 percent, things are completely different for Pittsburgh.

The Eastern Conference First Round series between the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins pits the Presidents' Trophy winners against a team that slumped to the finish line and didn't clinch a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs until the last day of the season.

That's one way to look at it.

The other way is, it's a rematch of one of the most memorable series from last season's playoffs.

The Rangers rallied from 3-1 down against the Penguins to win the best-of-7 Eastern Conference Second Round series in seven games.

The Penguins, who needed a 2-0 win Saturday against the Buffalo Sabres to get into the 2015 playoffs, have to be thinking about revenge.

The Pittsburgh Penguins face plenty of questions entering the Eastern Conference First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. But for once, goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury is not among those concerns.

Throughout a season filled with injuries, inconsistency and upheaval, Fleury has been arguably Pittsburgh's most consistent player. The Penguins, considered one of the NHL's more potent offensive teams, struggled to routinely score three or more goals following a hot first two months, which they finished 16-5-2. Pittsburgh dropped off considerably since that start but was able to hold on to a playoff berth thanks in large part to Fleury's impressive play.

"I think that [Fleury] is maybe the most talented goalie I've ever played with," said defenseman Ben Lovejoy, who was traded back to the Penguins from the Anaheim Ducks at the NHL Trade Deadline. "Incredibly athletic, fun to play in front of, works very hard. And he's a great teammate and guy. I think you can see his maturity level since I've been back. I don't want to say [he's] more focused, but I feel like he does a better job letting go if something goes wrong.

"The other team is trying really hard all the time. They really want to score on him. It's a hockey game. You're going to try to win 3-2 most nights, and I think he's realized other teams are going to get one. They might get two, and I think that he's much more stable and ready to bounce back."

NEW YORK -- Three goals in 25 games and a shot off a stick shaft in overtime of Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. That was New York Rangers forward Rick Nash in the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season. That's what he can't hide from now, with a new postseason set to begin.

"I've had thousands of people be on top of me and it is what it is," Nash said. "At the end of the day you just gotta try to be better next time."

Next time is here for Nash, who realizes that scoring a career-high 42 goals this season and being a dominant player, a potential Hart Trophy finalist, won't mean much if he doesn't score to help the Rangers win the Stanley Cup this spring.