Schedule and 2008 Results
Regular Season Records: Pittsburgh 47-27-8=102pts, New York Rangers 42-27-13=97pts
Game 1 on Friday, 25 April: NY Rangers lose at Pittsburgh, 5-goals-4
Game 2 on Sunday, 27 April: NY Rangers lose at Pittsburgh, 2-goals-nil
Game 3 on Tuesday, 29 April: Pittsburgh wins at NY Rangers, 5-goals-3
Game 4 on Thursday, 01 May: Pittsburgh loses at NY Rangers, 3-goals-nil
Game 5 on Sunday, 04 May: NY Rangers lose at Pittsburgh, 3-goals-2

SERIES NOTES:

After Game 5: Scoring the MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1032-winning goal 7:10 into overtime, the Pittsburgh Penguins hosted and bested the New York Rangers 3-goals-2 for a 4-games-1 series 1032 win. With the series 1032 win, the Pittsburgh Penguins improve their best-of-7 NHL playoff series record to 20-15 overall and 6-8 in the NHL Quarterfinals. With the series 1032 loss, the New York Rangers see their best-of-7 NHL playoff series record fall to 24-33 overall and 9-12 in the NHL Quarterfinals. The win order for the victorious Pittsburgh Penguins in series 1032 was WWWLW: Series 1032 thus becomes the 14th NHL Quarterfinals series, the 42nd NHL series (all rounds), and the 70th MLB/NBA/NHL series (all rounds) to follow that win order to completion.

After Game 4: Staving off elimination from the 2008 playoffs, the New York Rangers hosted and shut out the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-goals-nil to cut the Pittsburgh MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1032 lead to 3-games-1. When leading a best-of-7 NHL playoff series 3-games-1, the Pittsburgh Penguins have a series record of 4-1 with a four-series winning streak, and a Game 5 record of 4-1 with a four-Game 5 winning streak. The sole series/Game 5 loss in this context by Pittsburgh was to the New York Islanders in series 295 - a series in which the Islanders had trailed 3-games-nil but won the series in seven games in the 1975 NHL Quarterfinals. When trailing a best-of-7 NHL playoff series 3-games-1, the New York Rangers have a lucky 0-13 series record and a 4-9 Game 5 record with a four-Game 5 losing streak.

After Game 3: With MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1032 in Madison Square Garden for Games 3-4, the Pittsburgh Penguins won their seventh consecutive 2008 NHL playoff game, upending the host New York Rangers 5-goals-3 to take a 3-games-nil series 1032 lead. When leading a best-of-7 NHL playoff series 3-games-nil, the Pittsburgh Penguins have a 7-1 series record with a six-series winning streak, and a Game 4 mark of 5-3. When trailing a best-of-7 NHL playoff series 3-games-nil, the New York Rangers have a 0-9 series record and a Game 4 record of 3-6.

After Game 2: The Pittsburgh Penguins hosted and defeated the New York Rangers 2-goals-nil to take a 2-games-nil MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1032 lead. When leading a best-of-7 NHL playoff series 2-games-nil, the Pittsburgh Penguins have an 8-2 series record and an 8-2 Game 3 record. When trailing a best-of-7 NHL playoff series 2-games-nil, the New York Rangers have a 1-17 series record and a 9-9 Game 3 record. The sole Ranger win upon having trailed 2-games-nil occurred in series 700, when New York rebounded to defeat the Montreal Canadiens in their 1996 NHL Preliminary-round series.

After Game 1: Trailing 3-goals-nil as late as 8:12 into the second period, the Penguins in Pittsburgh rallied to defeat the New York Rangers 5-goals-4 and take a 1-game-nil MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1032 lead. When leading a best-of-7 NHL playoff series 1-game-nil, the Pittsburgh Penguins have a 10-5 series record and a 10-5 Game 2 record. When trailing a best-of-7 NHL playoff series 1-game-nil, the New York Rangers have an 8-23 series record and a 13-18 Game 2 record. In the history of best-of-7 NHL playoff games from 1939 through 2007, inclusive, home teams (such as Pittsburgh in series 1032 Game 1) that trail by three goals 8:12 into the second period had a historical game record of only 4-78 (.049). Once before had the Penguins in Pittsburgh fallen behind 3-goals-nil but won a best-of-7 playoff game 5-goals-4: In series 615, the eventual 1992 NHL champion Penguins did so over the Chicago Blackhawks in their NHL Finals Game 1. Pittsburgh in series 1032 Game 1 scored one pair of goals 14 seconds apart and a second pair of goals 20 seconds apart. In the history of best-of-7 NHL playoff series from 1939 through 2007, inclusive, only once before had a team scored two pairs of goals, with the time between goals 20 seconds or less in each pair: In series 433 Game 3, the eventual 1984 NHL champion Edmonton Oilers accomplished the feat in Edmonton against the four-time defending champion New York Islanders in their NHL Finals series. Edmonton scored its goals at 19:12 and 19:29 into the second period (17 seconds apart) and at 5:32 and 5:52 into the third period (20 seconds apart) to turn a 2-goals-all game into a 6-goals-2 lead. Edmonton would win 1984 NHL Finals Game 3 by a 7-goals-2 score for a 2-games-1 series lead, which the Oilers would soon win 4-games-1. Veteran monitors of the New York hockey scene might recall this 1984 occurrence from series 1032 Game 1, given the noteworthy similarities.

Pre-series assessment: In the 2007-08 regular season, Pittsburgh finished five points ahead of the New York Rangers. From 1939 through the 2008 NHL Preliminary round, when NHL teams led their best-of-7 playoff series opponents by five regular-season points, they have posted a 23-10 (.697) best-of-7 series record in those series against those opponents. MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1032 is the 57th best-of-7 playoff series for the New York Rangers, and the 35th for Pittsburgh. In best-of-7 playoff series, the New York Rangers have a 24-32 series record, a 9-11 Quarterfinals series record, and a 25-31 Game 1 record, while Pittsburgh has a 19-15 series record, a 5-8 Quarterfinals record, and a 15-19 Game 1 record. Series 1032 is the fourth best-of-7 meeting between the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh, with the Penguins having won the first three meetings (series 529, in the 1989 NHL Preliminary round; series 610, in the 1992 NHL Quarterfinals; series 707, in the 1996 NHL Quarterfinals).