State Your Case: Rangers or Penguins to return to Stanley Cup Playoffs this season

The Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Rangers open their seasons with a Metropolitan Division clash at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN1, TVAS).

The Penguins, with new coach Dan Muse, are looking to get back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since the 2021-22 season. They have not won a round in the playoffs since the 2017-18 season.

The Rangers missed the playoff last season after a run of three straight appearances, including trips to the Eastern Conference Final in 2021-22 and 2023-24. They start the season with their third head coach in four seasons, Mike Sullivan.

If that name sounds familiar, it’s the same Sullivan who coached the Penguins from 2015-16 through last season, winning the Stanley Cup in 2016 and 2017.

He was hired to not only get the Rangers back into the postseason, but to make them Cup contenders again. Muse’s goal is to get the Penguins’ core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang back to the postseason.

But which team is better equipped to get there? Ahead of the season opener, NHL.com Editor-in-Chief Bill Price and assistant day editor David Satriano tackle that very question in this edition of State Your Case:

Price: I picked the Rangers to win the Metropolitan Division, so clearly I feel the Rangers are better situated to get back to the playoffs than the Penguins. And the big reason is the guy who coached the Penguins for several seasons, including back-to-back Cups in 2016 and 2017, is now behind the Rangers bench. Yes, Sullivan can have that type of impact on a team and he will have it with the Rangers this season. Sure, the Rangers were not great last year, but they still have a ton of talent and Sullivan knows how to work with elite talent (see the Cups in 2016 and 2017). Not only will the Rangers make the postseason, they will roll into it. You heard it here first.

Satriano: While I would not be surprised if the Rangers bounced back from last season's disappointment, I think the Penguins are more likely to end their three-season playoff drought. Yes, they let Sullivan go and have first-year head coach Dan Muse, a former Rangers assistant, but a new voice was needed. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang are all future Hall of Famers who want to go on one more run before they eventually ride off into the sunset. And goalie Tristan Jarry is motivated to show he's a No. 1 goalie after struggling last season, even being sent to the American Hockey League. If Jarry starts off hot, expect the rest of the team to follow, and they should be involved in the wild-card mix until the end of the season.

Price: Dave, I totally agree that any team with Sidney Crosby should never be counted out, especially in an Olympic year. And yes, Sid, Malkin, Letang and Erik Karlsson form a veteran and dangerous core. I think it’s key for the Penguins to get off to a good start because if they are struggling near the NHL Trade Deadline, the Crosby trade rumors are going to heat up. You could probably say the same for the Rangers, especially with Artemi Panarin, who can be a free agent after the season. Still, I think the Rangers’ talent – we haven’t mentioned goalie Igor Shesterkin or all-world defenseman Adam Fox – being guided by Sullivan gives them the best chance of these two teams to get back to the postseason.

Satriano: I won't argue that the Rangers have the clear advantage in goal here and have more depth up and down the lineup. But I'm banking on Pittsburgh's veterans helping out forwards Rutger McGroarty, 21, and Ville Koivunen, 22, and defenseman Owen Pickering, 21, -- just to name a few -- who are slated to make big impacts this season and perhaps be the Penguins' future core. Add veteran forward Anthony Mantha and goalie Arturs Silovs, each acquired in the offseason, and I think Pittsburgh has the means to surprise this season. They play the Rangers twice in the season’s first three games in what should feel like playoff games and if the Penguins can get off to a fast start, confidence could start creeping in.