Rangers: 52-24-6, 110 points
Penguins: 46-25-11, 103 points
Season series: NYR 3-1-0; PIT 1-3-0
Game 1: Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, CBC, SN, TVAS, MSG, ATTSN-PT)
The New York Rangers won three games against the Pittsburgh Penguins in a span of less than two weeks from March 25-April 7. They limited Pittsburgh to four goals in four games in their regular-season series.
But what happens through the course of the 82-game season rarely matters once the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin, so it's possible the Rangers' recent success against the Penguins won't mean a thing when they meet in the Eastern Conference First Round.
That's at least the message the Rangers are trying to send in advance of Game 1.
"We're familiar with what they do and what kind of team that is, but now it's 0-0," Rangers center Mika Zibanejad said. "Everyone starts at zero, so I don't think the regular season] makes a huge difference."
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said he thinks they can take a lot out of the season series even though the last three games didn't go their way.
"The biggest takeaway is recognizing that they're a real good hockey team," Sullivan said. "They've got a lot of team speed. Their power play is really dangerous. They've got terrific goaltending. They're a deep team. They're a good team. It'll be a big challenge for us."
***[RELATED: [Complete Rangers vs. Penguins series coverage]*
This will be the eighth time New York and Pittsburgh will play in a playoff series; the first since 2016, when the Penguins needed five games to eliminate the Rangers in the first round, starting their journey to the first of two straight Stanley Cup championships.
Left wing Chris Kreider is the only player on the Rangers roster who played in that series.
New York is in the NHL postseason for the first time since 2020, when it was swept 3-0 by the Carolina Hurricanes in the best-of-5 Stanley Cup Qualifiers. The Rangers clinched a playoff berth during the regular season for the first time since 2017.
Only Kreider and Zibanejad remain from the last time the Rangers won a playoff game -- May 4, 2017, 4-1 against the Ottawa Senators in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Second Round.
"It's been a grind, a couple long years, but definitely worth the wait to be back in the playoffs," Zibanejad said. "Looking at this group that we have, I'm super happy to be a part of that and to be a part of the solution. I'm just really excited to get this going."
The Rangers won 52 games this season, tied for second most in team history (1993-94). Their 110 points is the third most in team history.
They became the 10th team in NHL history, and first in 10 years, to have at least 50 wins and 100 points with a 50-goal scorer (Kreider was third in the NHL with 52), a 90-point scorer (Artemi Panarin had 96) and a goalie with at least 36 wins (Igor Shesterkin had 36).
The last team to do it was the Penguins in 2011-12.
"I like our team," Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said. "We've got a good mix of young guys that took a step this year big time. I like what we're going to bring."
The Penguins are in the playoffs for the 16th straight season, the longest active postseason streak among teams in any of the major professional sports leagues in North America.
The Seattle Sounders of Major League Soccer are next with 13 straight postseason appearances. The Washington Capitals are the next closest NHL team, with eight straight.
Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang have been the core that has helped the Penguins keep their playoff streak alive. It's possible this postseason is the last time they will be all together.
Crosby is signed through 2024-25, but Malkin and Letang are pending unrestricted free agents, meaning their futures with the Penguins are in doubt after the playoffs.
"As much as you don't want to think about it, it's something that you understand could be a possibility," Crosby said. "I think you just try to enjoy it as much as you can and try to take it all in because you know it's something that's not going to last forever, whether it's this year or down the road a little bit more.
"You only get to play for so long, so I think just trying to enjoy it and be grateful for the opportunity that we have to do it again."