from Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post,

There was an ominous cloud hovering over the Penguins as they prepared for Game 7 Tuesday night against the indomitable surging force the Rangers had become in Games 5 and 6.

A palpable air of angst hung in the Penguins dressing room after the morning skate, with players sounding as if they were talking themselves into believing that there was not more pressure on them despite being favored to win Game 7 in their building after squandering a 3-1 series lead on a seemingly gassed Rangers team.

“There’s enough pressure out there – outside pressure – all kinds of crap going around, so we might as well make it fun,’’ Penguins defenseman Matt Niskanen said.

Niskanen made it clear the “outside pressure’’ and “crap’’ to which he referred was coming from the media, which has painted a picture of the Penguins as an underachieving team with two of the sport’s best players (Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin) that barely survived the Islanders in the playoffs last year, barely got out of the Columbus series in round one this year and was facing the prospect of blowing a 3-1 lead to the Rangers.

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