New York Rangers vs. Pittsburgh Penguins Game 7 Preview, Pick, Score

Sidney Crosby, the captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins, is the best hockey player in the world. That much is undeniable, but unless he plays like it tonight when his Penguins meet the New York Rangers in Game 7, his team may crumple around him.

Crosby’s struggles in this postseason have been well documented. He has one goal and eight assists in 12 games – not terrible numbers, but not what’s expected of him. Crosby is supposed to score and win games and act like an ambassador of the game. Right now, he’s doing none of those things. Right now the media is wondering whether he should have been fined for a number of antics in Game 6. Right now he can’t buy a goal, but none of that will matter if he shows up for the big game like he has so many times before.

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Now, after Pittsburgh owned a 3-1 series lead against the New York Rangers, Crosby’s Penguins face a winner-takes-all against the Rangers in Game 7. Sports Interaction has the Penguins as a -155 favorite but the book’s action on the game is almost split – 52% backing Pittsburgh and 48% supporting the Rangers. That’s how quickly this series has changed.

“In this situation, whether we won the last three to get this point or not, it doesn’t really matter,” Crosby told reporters. “It’s what we’re going to do (on Tuesday). Putting all the energy toward that is the most important thing and it’s going to make us the most productive.”

Meanwhile, on the other bench, the Blueshirts have banded together and are playing their best hockey in months following the passing of Martin St. Louis’ mother. They’re controlling the play and frustrating the Penguins with their forecheck. The Rangers are finally catching a few breaks and are using a committee of players to frustrate Crosby and Malkin each shift and have held strong on the penalty kill.

Now, the roles in this series have reversed. New York has all the momentum and Pittsburgh is the team feeling all the pressure to make it to the Eastern Conference finals after building a 3-1 lead. The Rangers’ projected lineup is 62-6 when playing in Game 7.

“It’s like anything, you win a few Game 7s and you kind of relax in them a little more,” Brad Richards told reporters. “If you lose three or four over two years you guys [the media] are coming in here and asking, ‘Why can’t you win in a Game 7?’ It’s a lot easier to answer the questions and go to bed at night when you know you’ve won them.”

Couldn’t agree more. The Rangers skate to a 4-2 win and head to the Eastern Conference finals.