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Columnist: Penguins have stolen ‘psychological’ edge from Rangers

Pittsburgh Penguins v New York Rangers - Game Two

Pittsburgh Penguins v New York Rangers - Game Two

Jared Silber

Hey, remember last week when a Pittsburgh newspaper columnist was bemoaning the slim chances of the Penguins in their series versus the Rangers?

Well, fast forward to today and here’s Larry Brooks of the New York Post with a rather different take:

To walk into the Penguins’ locker room on the morning of Monday’s Game 3 is to feel the confidence this eight-seed gained by splitting the first two matches of the opening round in New York. ... Where is Yogi when we need him to step up and talk about how a playoff series is 90 percent mental and the other half physical? Because that is what this exercise has become for the Rangers, who must not only adjust their tactical approach against a Pittsburgh team that has done an outstanding job of limiting New York’s signature diagonal stretch-pass, rush game, but also needs to swing the psychological aspect of the best-of-seven back to their side.

Welcome to playoff hockey, where one game is all that’s needed to turn the tide (or at least perceptions).

In a related story, get a load of what Ben Lovejoy was saying about Saturday’s 4-3 victory:

We’ll have to wait and see if the good Penguins vibes are sustainable. The odds makers still have the Rangers as slight favorites tonight, even though the game’s in Pittsburgh.