May 4th 2008 1:56PM by Pat Lackey
Teams walk a thin line in the playoffs. The Pittsburgh Penguins won three games in a row to open their series with the New York Rangers and seemed to be cruising to the Eastern Conference Finals. Their loss in Game 4 certainly wasn’t a crushing loss, especially given that they’d won their first seven playoff games. Still, there’s a very real feeling that the Penguins have to finish this series off this afternoon or they’re going to find themselves in some serious trouble.

Game 4 was a complete win by the Rangers. Jaromir Jagr turned in a vintage performance, Henrik Lundqvist stood on his proverbial head, and the Rangers D stifled and frustrated Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. but from a series perspective all it earned them was a trip back to raucous Mellon Arena, where the Pens’ haven’t lost in the playoffs. On the other hand, the Penguins weren’t going undefeated in the series and were probably well served to get that wake-up call while they were ahead 3-0 in a series rather than early in a series against the Flyers. From both perspectives, the Rangers’ win was nothing earth shattering.

That all changes if they do it again this afternoon in Pittsburgh. The Rangers dominated long stretches of Game 3 before taking a stupid penalty that sunk their chances in that game for good. Another strong performance from Lundqvist, Jagr, and company brings the series back to Madison Square Garden with all the pressure in the world on the young Penguins to avoid a Game 7. It’s not time to hit the panic button for the Penguins or their fans yet, but not closing out this series today could present a big problem for the team that everyone had penciled into the Stanley Cup Finals just four days ago.