In order for the New York Rangers to advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the second time in three years, the club is going to have to do something its never done before: beat the Pittsburgh Penguins in the playoffs. The Rangers hope to strike first in this fifth postseason meeting between the franchises, as they visit Pittsburgh for Fridays Game 1 battle at CONSOL Energy Center. The Penguins are 4-0 all-time in postseason series against the Blueshirts and boast a 16-4 record over those four playoff encounters. The only time New York was able to post more than one win in a series against the Pens was in the 1992 Division Finals, when Pittsburgh downed the Rangers in six games en route to its second straight Stanley Cup title. The most recent playoff encounter was in the 2008 conference semifinals when Pittsburgh ousted the Rangers in five games. New York, which made the conference finals in 2012, is in the second round for the third straight season after beating Philadelphia in seven games in the opening round. Home-ice advantage came in handy for the Blueshirts, as they claimed a 2-1 win at Madison Square Garden in the final test against the Flyers, improving to 6-0 all-time in Game 7s on home ice. In this round, however, the Rangers will have to prove they can win on the road against the Metropolitan Division champion Penguins. "Were battle-tested and ready for the next series," said Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault. "Philly was a real tough opponent, and you have to give them credit, it was a great series, but we know if you look on paper Pittsburgh is probably one of the best teams in the league. They were (13) points ahead of us in the regular season, so were going to have our hands full." The Pens and Rangers split four meetings during the 2013-14 campaign, with both teams recording 2-1-1 records. New York had lost five straight in Pittsburgh before ending that road slide with a 4-3 shootout win on Feb. 7. Game 2 is scheduled for Sunday in the Steel City, while New York gets to host the third meeting on Monday. Fatigue could be an issue for the Rangers at the start of this series, as New York will have played five games in a span of seven days through Game 3 of this set. The Pens, on the other hand, had three full days of rest heading into Game 1. Pittsburgh is in the second round after beating Columbus in six games during the conference quarterfinals. The Pens are after a second straight trip to the East finals after getting swept by Boston in the penultimate playoff round last spring. A big topic of conversation in the middle of the first round was Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkins lack of goal-scoring. But, after Malkin turned in a hat trick to help Pittsburgh clinch the series in Game 6, that likely puts an end to the discussion for now. Malkin ended with seven points on three goals and four assists. Crosby failed to score a goal in six games, but with six assists to his credit its difficult to say he was unproductive. Still, Crosby, the odds-on favorite to win this seasons Hart Trophy, hasnt recorded a goal in his last 11 playoff games and if he goes long without scoring one in this series it could become an issue once again. Crosby and Chris Kunitz led Pittsburgh with six points apiece during the season series with New York, with the captain notching a goal and five assists and Kunitz delivering three goals and three helpers. Malkin only played in two of the four meetings and had a goal and an assist. When things go wrong for Pittsburgh, nobody gets criticized more than No. 1 goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. Last spring, Fleury was replaced by Tomas Vokoun as the clubs starting goaltender after Game 4 of the opening round against the New York Islanders and did not start another game in the playoffs. Fleury struggled at times during the conference quarterfinals against Columbus, but not enough for head coach Dan Bylsma to make the switch to current backup Jeff Zatkoff. For the most part, Fleury was solid against the Blue Jackets in Round 1. He ended the series with a .908 save percentage and 2.81 goals against average. The 29-year-old is 49-36 with a .903 save percentage and .273 GAA throughout his playoff career. The biggest advantage New York has over the Penguins could be in net, where Rangers backstop Henrik Lundqvist is as steady as they come. The 32-year-old Swede posted a .919 save percentage and 2.11 GAA in the seven games against Philadelphia Lundqvist is a big reason the Rangers are so difficult to beat in a long series. With its win over Philly, the Blueshirts became the first team in NHL history to win a Game 7 in the first round in three consecutive postseasons. In five career Game 7s, Lundqvist is 4-1 with a 1.00 GAA, a .963 save percentage and has allowed two goals or fewer in all five games. The Rangers threw a balanced scoring attack at Philadelphia, with eight players tied for the team lead with two goals apiece and 17 skaters in all registered at least one point. Martin St. Louis and Brad Richards, both members of Tampa Bays 2004 Stanley Cup-winning team, led the way with six points on two goals and four assists, while fellow forwards Carl Hagelin, Benoit Pouliot and Mats Zuccarello each had two goals and two assists. Even physical forward Daniel Carcillo joined the fun, as the ex-Flyer scored two goals against his former team, including the first marker in Wednesdays 2-1 Game 7 victory. If there is one guy who needs to get going for New York its the clubs top offensive weapon Rick Nash. The big, talented winger led the team with 26 goals during the regular season, but he failed to score against the Flyers while notching four assists. Over 23 career playoff games, Nash only has managed two goals while recording 10 assists. Zuccarello posted two goals and four assists to lead the Rangers in scoring against the Pens during the season series. Both Fleury and Lundqvist started all four games in net. Pittsburghs No. 1 netminder had a 3.12 GAA in the season series, while Lundqvist was slightly better with a 2.88 GAA. Martin St. Louis Lightning Jersey . Mitchell first announced on Twitter that he has signed with the Steelers and his agent Brian Hamilton confirmed the signing to The Associated Press. Financial terms were not released. The Steelers have not announced the addition of Mitchell. Martin St. Louis Jersey . Dwyane Wade followed a few days later. http://www.lightninghockeystore.us/Ryan-Callahan-Jersey/. Others describe it as taking the parrot for a walk. Andrei Vasilevskiy Jersey .com) - No Sidney Crosby, no problem. Alex Killorn Jersey .C. -- Authorities say the brother of Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Roddy White has been shot and killed outside a South Carolina nightclub.REGINA - Dyson Stevenson scored his 25th goal of the season in the second period, and it held up as the winner as the Regina Pats edged the Kootenay Ice 3-2 in Western Hockey League action on Wednesday. Braden Christoffer and Connor Gay also scored for Regina (29-22-5). Luke Philp had a goal and an assist for Kootenay (31-22-4), while Jagger Dirk rounded out the Ice offence. Pats goalie Daniel Wapple made 27 saves for the victory. Kootenays Mackenzie Skapski stopped 28 shots in defeat. --- RAIDERS 4 OIL KINGS 3 EDMONTON -- Collin Valcourt scored two goals and assisted on another as Prince Albert edged Edmonton. Dakota Conroy had a goal and two assists for Prince Albert (29-22-5), and Leon Draisaitl scored one and helped on another. Henrik Samuelsson scored twice and Cole Benson rounded out the offence for Edmonton (40-15-1), whos win streak was halted at 11 games. Cole Cheveldave stopped 41 of 44 shots for the Raiders, who were outshot by 20. Oil Kings goalie Tristan Jarry made 20 saves. --- HURRICANES 3 WHEAT KINGS 2 (OT) LETHBRIDGE, Alta. -- Taylor Cooper scored in overtime to lift the Hurricanes over the Wheat Kings and snap Lethbridges three-game losing streak. Brady Ramsay and Riley Sheen had a goal and two assists apiece for Lethbridge (12-41-5), who won for just the third time in its last 10 games. Richard Nejezchleb and Ryley Lindgren replied for Brandon (28-22-7). Hurricanes goalie Teagan Sacher kicked aside 25 shots while his Wheat Kings counterpart, Jordan Papirny, made 23 saves. --- TIGERS 4 REBELS 1 RED DEER, Alta. -- Curtis Valk had a two-point night with a goal and an assist to lead the Tigers over the Rebels. Tommy Vannelli, Anthony Ast, and Alex Mowbray also scored for Medicine Hat (34-20-3). Tyler Lewington chipped in with three assists.dddddddddddd. Connor Bleackley replied with the lone goal for Red Deer (27-26-4). Marek Langhammer made 27 saves for the Tigers while Rebels goalie Patrik Bartosak stopped 34 shots. --- WINTERHAWKS 6 COUGARS 4 PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. -- Keegan Iverson scored twice and WHL point-leader Nicolas Petan added three more to his tally with a goal and two assists to power the red-hot Winterhawks over the Cougars. Oliver Bjorkstrand had a goal and an assist, and Garrett Haar and Tyler Leier also scored for Portland (40-12-5), which has 15 wins in its last 16 games. Troy Bourke scored twice and added an assist for Prince George (24-28-7), and Marc McNulty and Brad Morrison also scored. Corbin Boes stopped 20 shots for the Winterhawks while Ty Edmonds made 29 saves for the Cougars. --- ROCKETS 2 CHIEFS 1 SPOKANE, Wash. -- Cole Linaker scored with 27 seconds left to give the Rockets a close win over the Chiefs. Myles Bell scored a power-play goal to put Kelowna (45-8-4) on the board in the first period. Reid Gow responded for Spokane (32-20-5), tying the game in the third period before Linaker sealed the victory for the Rockets. Jordan Cooke made 29 saves to pick up his 30th win of the season. Chiefs goalie Eric Williams stopped 32 shots in the loss. --- ROYALS 3 AMERICANS 2 (OT) VICTORIA -- Jordan Fransoo scored at 2:26 of overtime to drive the Royals over the Americans. Steven Hodges had a goal and an assist, and Logan Nelson also scored for Victoria (39-16-4), which is 8-0-2 in its last 10. Parker Bowles scored a goal and assisted on another, and Mitch Topping also scored for Tri-City (27-24-6). Beau McCue had assists on both goals. Royals goaltender Coleman Vollrath made 37 saves. Eric Comrie turned aside 25 shots for the Americans. ' ' '