Brash And Bold : The Numbers Are Tight, But History Tells the Tale.

The Penguins have a huge match up in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, their dangerous rivals, the New York Rangers. The boys in blue from New York have played our boys well this year. The record is tied in 4 games. Not bad. Looking at Fleury's and Lundqvist;s playoff records for this year, also pretty even. It's looking to be a very good series. Personally, I am glad the Rangers beat the Flyers. A series against them would have been brutal. Possibly doing damage to a point that could prevent the Penguins from advancing further in the playoffs. And history says that our Penguins will vanquish the Rangers.

Here is what Josh Yohe from the TribLive Sports had to say yesterday:

"Statistics, though, suggest the Penguins are the favorite in this series.

Since taking over as Penguins coach in 2009, Dan Bylsma's record against the Rangers is 17-7-3. His record against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden is 9-4-0.

With Sidney Crosby in the lineup — Crosby has missed nine games against the Rangers in the Bylsma era because of injuries — the Penguins record against New York is 13-4-1. When Bylsma has Crosby at his disposal, the Penguins are 7-2-0 at Madison Square Garden."

Read more: http://triblive.com/sports/penguins/...#ixzz30aLkKKlp

Pretty good statistics, especially with a healthy Crosby. And speaking of Crosby, my prediction is he gets his first goal tonight. He is way overdue.

My other prediction, Fleury will have a great series. I say this in advance of dealing with all his detractors on Twitter every time he makes a mistake. He's a great goalie, and I think his head is back in the game.

So, Let's Go Pens!! Let's start this thing off right tonight!!

P.S. I know I fell off the face of the earth for a while. I just recently got married, so I'll blame that. But WVUTimmy is back baby!!!