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The Pittsburgh Penguins now know for certain what lies in their immediate future in regards to Round 2 of the National Hockey League Playoffs. The New York Rangers lie in waiting. After quickly dispatching the listless Senators of Ottawa in a tidy four game sweep, the Penguins must now rest and prepare for the next round.

Their next round opponent is New York, therefore the Penguins will not be able to prepare for a certain matchup. New York is blessed with several good offensive scoring lines, a tough goaltender, and a sturdy blueline. The Rangers have a lot of depth, and may force the Penguins to play a different style of game than they would like to play.

Based on the current situation within the divisional series', the Penguins willface the New York Rangers, but the Rangers are not yet dead, and the Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Canadiens will probably battle each other into the ground, thus exposing any weaknesses for the third round.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are thus far experiencing a great deal of success, even if the Senators were a less than impressive adversary. The Penguins have been receiving stellar goaltending from Marc Andre Fleury, and timely scoring from Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby, and Marian Hossa. With their steady arsenal of offensive weaponry and their defensive stalwarts performing well, the Penguins seem to be a lock to advance into the third round, the Eastern Conference Finals. But those games still need to be played, and as long as Mario Lemieux stays up in the press box, they need to play together as a whole unit.

Pittsburgh's defense and goaltending completely eradicated the Ottawa Senator's potent offensive juggernaut, limiting their chances and stifling them when they were presented with opportunities. Ottawa may have been a stepping stone for Pittsburgh, but they may have also hindered the Penguin's chances, since they have not really been tested yet in the playoffs. And while rest between series' can be good, especially for those nursing nagging injuries, the rest sometimes can be a distraction.

Pittsburgh needs to make certain that they do not become complacent during their rest, and that they stay focused and in optimum condition, because whomever they face in the second round will not be as easy to defeat as this year's edition of the Ottawa Senators.

The Penguins need to continue to receive clutch scoring from a whole host of players, and their elite players, Malkin, Crosby, Hossa and Gonchar need to be at the top of their games. Pittsburgh should win this series, although I believe that it will take the full seven games to complete. In the end, Pittsburgh has enough studs and youthful exuberance to survive.

Learn more about this author, Bobby Coles.
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