Thanks Mom: Martin St. Louis scores in the first period for his Mom France in Game 6 last year. The Rangers face the Penguins again in the first round with greater expectations. .
AP Photo/Seth Wenig

It starts all over again for the Rangers. After setting franchise marks in wins (53) and points (113), they must turn the page. The NHL Playoffs are a different animal. Ask any player who still remains from last year’s roster how hard it is to win four series and earn 16 victories to win the Stanley Cup and they’ll tell you.

It’s all about this Spring for the President’s Trophy winners. It starts tonight against the Penguins for a Game 1 at what should be a wild environment at Madison Square Garden. A rematch of last year’s entertaining Eastern Conference Semifinal that went seven games before the Rangers came back from a 3-1 series deficit to advance past the Penguins, this time they’re overwhelming favorites. With high expectations comes a lot of pressure. We’ll see if they’re up to the challenge.

Entering the first round, the Pens are a mess defensively. They’re without Kris Letang, Olli Maatta and at least to start, Christian Ehrhoff and rookie Derrick Pouliot. That means first-year coach Mike Johnston will lean heavily on vets Paul Martin and Rob Scuderi. Ben Lovejoy and Ian Cole will see big minutes. Taylor Chorney and Brian Dumoulin? Who? Exactly. Scott Harrington was recalled as an extra.

The Rangers should be able to exploit the Pens lack of quality defensive depth. They boast three scoring lines led by the cohesive trio of Rick Nash, Derick Brassard and Mats Zuccarello. For Nash, it’s all about the postseason. He scored a career high 42 goals and had 69 points. He’s been brilliant. It’s time to rewrite a playoff script that’s seen him score four goals in 37 games on Broadway. He’s healthy and motivated. Brassard is a great setup man who had a career high 60 points and Zuccarello is a perfect complement with a blend of skill, creativity and willingness to mix it up.

That Alain Vigneault can send out the All-American line of Chris Kreider, Derek Stepan and J.T. Miller gives him two number one lines. While Kreider and Stepan have been streaky, they can step it up. Kreider has 22 points (11-11-22) in 41 postseason games including 13 (5-8-13) in 15 games last year. Stepan had 15 points (5-10-15) last year proving capable. Miller got into four games and tallied two assists. He’s improved enough to become a top six forward who brings a physical element and complements Stepan and Kreider.

The third line of speedster Carl Hagelin, breakout candidate Kevin Hayes and proven vet Martin St. Louis has solid chemistry. In particular, Hayes’ rapid development makes the Blueshirts dangerous. He is very poised using his size well. Very patient with the puck, he can be a match-up nightmare for a opponent short on D. If he performs and there’s no reason to believe he won’t, they can go far. St. Louis must finish. Hagelin is a consistent two-way threat whose speed can become a factor.

To start, the fourth line will be Tanner Glass, Dominic Moore and Jesper Fast. Right now, there are no issues. Glass played his best hockey the final month adding the physical element and energy Vigneault expected. Is he scary? Sure. He must pick his spots when going for hits. It can’t come at the expense of putting himself out of position causing odd-man rushes for Pens’ stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Vigneault should make sure to limit Glass’ shifts against such world class players. Moore is a smart checking player who wins faceoffs, can chip in the occasional goal and plays penalty kill. Fast is sorta like his name in that he’s a good skater who can kill penalties and plays disciplined. If he or Glass falter, James Sheppard will be in.

If the Rangers have a huge edge, it’s on the blueline. Led by Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi, they are deep thanks to Marc Staal returning and Glen Sather’s wise addition of Keith Yandle at the deadline. When you can have Yandle on your third pair and also quarterback your power play and make good reads that lead to offense at 5-on-5, you have to feel pretty good about your chances. Dan Boyle can be adventurous in his end and the Pens will try to take advantage of that. But he’s experienced enough and is an asset in the offensive zone. Matt Hunwick has done all that’s been asked. He is the sixth defenseman until Kevin Klein is ready. When that is could depend upon how this series goes.

The goalie match-up pits Henrik Lundqvist against Marc-Andre Fleury. Before everyone dismisses Fleury, he’s had a good year. He led the league with 10 shutouts and posted a 2.32 goals-against-average and .920 save percentage while winning 34 of the Pens’ 43 games. Yes, he can be moved side to side. The Rangers have enough skill to do it. But Fleury is capable. Lundqvist is 100 percent and looked sharp after his return from a sprained blood vessel. That he still won 30 in 46 games is impressive. But as he knows, it’s all about the postseason. Can he duplicate last year and get the final three wins required for 16? Cam Talbot is a quality back-up who can start. He’ll only get in if the Rangers are really bad in a period or Lundqvist is off.

Can the Pens pull the upset? While many have written them off, they still possess two of the game’s biggest stars. Crosby and Malkin can take over series. You have to be blind not to give them a chance. Is the deck stacked against them? Absolutely. But it’s not like they don’t have forwards capable of factoring in. Patric Hornqvist can snipe and is always in front of the net. The Rangers must pay attention to him and box out. Chris Kunitz is proven.

David Perron is the wildcard. Oh. He’s skilled but finished ice cold with no goals over his last 12. He’s on a line with Malkin and Kunitz. Crosby centers Hornqvist and Daniel Winnik. Blake Comeau was good in the first half but starts on the fourth line with antagonist Max Lapierre and Nick Spaling. Brandon Sutter is a underrated third line two-way center who’s dangerous shorthanded. He anchors Beau Bennett and pest Steve Downie.

If I were the Pens, I’d try to get the Rangers off their game. Figure Downie and Lapierre to mix it up during and after shifts. Last year, the Rangers succeeded agitating Crosby and Malkin, who was the Pens’ most dangerous forward. He steps up and never backs off. There’ll probably be plenty of rough stuff.

Pittsburgh might try to slow down the tempo. Try to lull the Rangers to sleep. They might play more deliberate turning the series into a tight checking lower scoring affair. The Rangers want to push the pace and forecheck the Pens to death. Try to wear them out. They have superior depth.

It’s worth noting that the Pens are 9-3 all-time in the playoffs at MSG. The Rangers took last year’s series by winning the final three including Games 5 and 7 on the road. If they lose at home, don’t forget they set a franchise mark for a second straight year under Vigneault winning 28 road games. They won’t panic.

Keys To A Ranger Win

1.Score Early-create some doubt. The Pens are fragile.

2.Discipline-don’t give the Pens power plays. They still ranked in the top 10 at 19.3 percent. Crosby and Malkin excel on the man-advantage. Of Crosby’s 84 points, 31 came on the power play (10-21-31). Malkin had 26 (9-17-26) of his 70 on it. Take their space away. Hornqvist had 6 power play goals and Kunitz had 9.

3.Special Teams-sticking with the theme, the Rangers power play ranked in the bottom third at 16.8 percent. It showed signs the final week with McDonagh and Brassard tallying. To succeed, it has to be better. The penalty kill ranked sixth killing 84.3 percent. Nash and Stepan combined for six shorthanded goals. The Pens ranked third best at 84.6 percent with Sutter scoring four shorthanded goals.

4.Puck Possession-while I’m not a big Corsi/Fenwick guy, being able to control puck possession is important. It’s no secret the Rangers aren’t a great faceoff team. They ranked second to last in faceoff percentage (46.7 percent). Surprisingly, the Pens weren’t great either going 49.1 percent. Crosby actually lost three more draws and Sutter was slightly over 50 percent. Moore is the only Ranger who was over 50 percent. Brassard was okay while Stepan struggled but he is capable of winning key ones. As long as the Rangers drive possession and dictate, they should be okay.

5.Goaltending and D-Bottom line. Lundqvist is the better goalie and the Rangers have the better D. That must play out. If Fleury is able to match him and the D shows leaks, all bets are off.

Series Prediction: Rangers in 6