There is much to like about the progress the Rangers made this season, most notably the inclusion of numerous youngsters in key spots in their lineup. But in the end, the result was the same as last year’s, as the Blueshirts were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by a faster, more talented team. And when Marian Hossa took a loose puck off the skate of Rangers defenseman Daniel Girardi and buried it behind Henrik Lundqvist, it gave the Pens a stirring overtime win and sent the Blueshirts packing for the summer.

The game had numerous turning points, beginning with a missed high-sticking call that should have given the Rangers a four-minute power play in the second period. But Penguins forward Ryan Malone’s high stick to the face of Chris Drury went un-penalized, and Pittsburgh went on to take a seemingly commanding 2-0 lead on goals from Hossa and Evgeni Malkin.

Hossa scored off a nice backdoor feed from Malone, while Rangers rearguard Michal Rozsival was incarcerated for the first of three foolish obstruction penalties he took in that critical second stanza. And Malkin’s goal was nothing short of brilliant, as he carved his way through the Rangers’ defense before flipping a backhand goal over Lundqvist’s shoulder — while he was skating backwards.

Though Sidney Crosby is billed as the face of the Pens’ franchise, in many ways it seems that Malkin is the superior player. While Crosby frequently falls off his skates and complains to the officials in a seemingly nonstop campaign to draw penalties, the no-nonsense Malkin quietly battles his way through checks and maintains his focus where it belongs.

It cannot be considered a mere coincidence that the Penguins played some of their best hockey this season while Crosby was out of the lineup with a high ankle sprain. During that time, Malkin earned his nomination as a Hart Trophy finalist with a spectacular effort, demonstrating that he is one of the NHL’s most dangerous game-breakers. In this series, Malkin was a persistent force, keeping constant pressure on the Rangers as the weapon the Penguins had that the Rangers could not answer.

Though Malkin and the Pens had them on the ropes, the Rangers came out for the third period prepared to fight for their playoff lives. They battled their way back to an even score on goals by youngsters Lauri Korpiskoski and Nigel Dawes. Korpiskoski, playing in his first NHL game, rushed into the Pens’ zone just over two minutes into the third stanza and blasted a slap shot past Marc-Andre Fleury to cut the Pens’ lead in half. Dawes flipped a backhand past Fleury just over a minute later to tie the score, and it seemed as though the momentum had firmly shifted into the Rangers’ favor.

Unfortunately for the Blueshirts, where all four on-ice officials missed Malone’s high stick to Drury’s face earlier in the game, they were paying closer attention when Drury returned the favor late in the third period. Malone skated off with a cut on his face far less severe than Drury suffered, and the Pens retook the momentum with a four-minute power play that carried over into the extra session. And though they didn’t score with the man advantage, the Pens’ younger legs — and the knowledge that they had a lot more leeway to work with given their 3-1 series lead — gave them a huge edge.

Just more than seven minutes into the first overtime session, with the puck bouncing like a Spaldeen on the shoddy ice at Mellon Arena, a pass from Crosby skipped off Girardi’s skate and onto Hossa’s stick in the slot. Hossa wasted no time firing the puck, and when he shot it between Lundqvist’s legs and into the Rangers’ goal, it gave Pittsburgh its first Eastern Conference Finals berth in seven years.

The Rangers could certainly complain about the officiating once again, for the missed call on Malone — and the correct call on Drury later — certainly played a huge impact on the final outcome. But to do so would be to ignore reality. For the hard truth is that the Penguins were by far the better team. Without the brilliant netminding of Lundqvist, the Blueshirts would have been swept and the game scores nowhere near as close.

The Rangers were outshot 40-22 yesterday, and the Pens had far more high-quality scoring chances. With the sole exception of the Blueshirts’ frantic comeback in the early third period, the ice seemed to be tilted in Pittsburgh’s favor throughout.

Perhaps the most obvious advantage the Pens held was while on the power play. Over the course of this series, the Penguins scored on nearly 22% of their power play opportunities (5-for-23), and their ability to control the puck for long stretches wore the Blueshirts down and yielded a residual edge during even-strength play.

Meanwhile, the Blueshirts’ work with the man advantage bordered on incompetent. They scored three power play goals in 26 tries (12% success rate) — on the surface, not so terrible. But one of their three man-advantage goals came with an empty Penguins net late in Game 4, and, except for that power play opportunity and goal, their actual 8% success rate is a clear indication of just how much the Rangers underachieved in this series.

Another key factor, as mentioned here numerous times during this series, was the stellar play of the Penguins’ defense. They did a fabulous job of limiting high-quality scoring chances against Fleury, blocking 88 Rangers shots over the course of the five games. The Rangers, on the other hand, blocked only 54 shots, a huge differential that played a key role in the series’ outcome.

The rapid development of youngsters Dawes, Girardi, Marc Staal, and Brandon Dubinsky certainly provides good reason for hope for next season. But without a top-notch quarterback for their power play — and without a suitable replacement for Jagr and/or Sean Avery should they choose to depart as unrestricted free agents — it’s quite possible that next season’s Rangers won’t be as good as this year’s version.

It’s long been known that this was likely the Rangers’ final opportunity to win a Stanley Cup with Jagr as the focal point of their offense. Now, look for them to consider other alternatives. But if they want to ice a legitimate Cup contender next season, their chances will be best if Jagr and Avery return and Brian Campbell comes aboard to quarterback their flailing power play. With the salary cap expected to rise (perhaps as high as $56 million) and with 13 players under contract for just under $34 million, the Rangers just might have the flexibility to sign all three.

Mr. Greenstein is the editor in chief of InsideHockey.com.