Evgeni Malkin scored two and Matt Murray posted his first career postseason shutout as the Pittsburgh Penguins blanked the New York Rangers, 5-0, to take a 3-1 lead in the series.
The Pittsburgh Penguins came out swinging tonight and never let up, obliterating the New York Rangers 5-0. From the second the first puck dropped, the Pens controlled the play.
Exactly 1:09 into the game, the Pittsburgh Penguins had already stolen a lead. Eric Fehr and his cohorts crashed the New York Rangers‘ net and in the ensuing confusion, put the puck behind Henrik Lundqvist.
Thanks, Fehr Bear. That goal was un-Fehr. It was like a Fehr-y tale. I’d be Fehr-ly scared if I was Lundqvist.
(I’ll be here all night.)
These Penguins were here to play. Just six minutes into the first period they’d already posted 8 shots on goal, one of which was the scoring tally and the rest of which could have easily gone in too. Though the Rangers looked like they were out for blood, the Pens outplayed them where it counted.
Rick Nash took an interference penalty, launching Trevor Daley into Pens goaltender Matt Murray. The Pens have scored in each game on the man advantage so far, boasting a solid 4/13 powerplay success rate in the series.
Well, you can go ahead and bump that percentage up. Sidney Crosby seemingly deflected the puck past Lundqvist and put the Penguins up 2-0 before the first period was even halfway over.
Some fun stats: Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, who picked up assists on both goals, have officially passed Kevin Stevens for third place on the Pens’ all-time playoff games list. They have 104 games apiece, which… hey, that’s not bad.
The Pens have also won 7 straight playoff games when Sid scores. Finally, Crosby also tied Stevens for third place on the Pens’ playoff goals list with 46. Well, he did for just about ten minutes. His goal was credited to Patric Hornqvist before the first period was over, so these latter two facts are a little less relevant now, but they’re still fun.
The Penguins were absolutely soaring while the Rangers looked dazed and confused, and most of all, really slow. Still, Hornqvist managed to take a penalty for interfering with Marc Staal. The penalty killers looked worlds better than the attackers, though, and took care of the penalty easily.
Just as it ended, Daley and Eric Staal exchanged pleasantries after Staal went crashing in on Murray. Both were given roughing penalties as the teams moved to four-on-four play.
Almost as soon as they were released, Daley went right back to the penalty box. He hooked Viktor Stalberg as the Ranger was trying to shoot. As good as the Pens’ PK can be, taking constant penalties is a terrible gameplan – sooner or later, one’s going to get through.
That is, unless Tom Kuhnhackl‘s eaten his Wheaties and can score shorthanded at least twice. Since I’m not sure we can count on that, let’s just stick to the “don’t take dumb penalties” strategy from this point forward.
Moments later, Conor Sheary scored his first career playoff goal: he scooped up a puck that was turned over by Kevin Klein, darted up the ice with it, and rocketed the puck through Lundqvist. 3-0, Pens.
It was very nearly 4-0 just seconds later. Malkin was able to shove the puck between Lundqvist’s skate and the goalpost and into the net, but Chris Kunitz had been wrapped up in the crease and the goal was immediately called off on the basis of goaltender interference.
200 feet away, Murray showed his skills as he made a ridiculous diving save to keep the puck out of a gaping net. Though he only made 16 saves in his game three win and return to the lineup, he showed no signs of rust.
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Speaking of rust, Bryan Rust has clearly been trying to make an impact in the playoffs. As part of the Pens’ corps of speedy rookie forwards, Rust had a chance of his own to take the puck up the ice already but could not convert.
The first period ended with the Penguins absolutely dominating. Though the shot count evened out more, the visitors impressed in nearly every other way.
That momentum continued into the second period. Just four minutes in, Evgeni Malkin got his goal back. He drew a penalty against Dominic Moore and on the following powerplay he shot an absolute rocket on goal and put the Pens up 4-0.
That proved to be the straw that broke the camel’s back – or, rather, the goal that broke the goaltender’s will. Lundqvist was replaced with Antti Raanta, who made his playoff debut in game one of this series.
Former Penguin Tanner Glass high-sticked Matt Cullen in the corner, drawing blood and receiving four minutes in the box. Given how lethal the Pens’ powerplay has been tonight – 2 for 2 up to this point – that could have gone much worse for the Rangers.
Instead, they got a two-on-one chance down the ice against Crosby, but between a combination of good luck and Murray’s athleticism the puck somehow stayed out of the Pittsburgh net.
Kunitz found his way into the Rangers’ net for the second time tonight and probably should have gotten a penalty (and he knew it!) but somehow got away with it scot-free. The crowd, at this point, seemed much more fired up than their team was.
The Pens allowed a chance for the Rangers to get back in it as Ben Lovejoy was caught holding the stick and penalized. Nick Bonino, a major figure on the Pittsburgh PK, decided that he didn’t want to play on “easy” mode anymore: he lost his stick and still pressured the attacking Rangers before clearing the puck out of the zone.
The Pens went back on the powerplay early in the third as J.T. Miller slashed Malkin, who looked to be in pain. Hopefully the slash didn’t reinjure his hand/wrist, which is the injury that kept him out of the lineup until just two games ago.
Geno went back out to the ice as the powerplay progressed, which is good; of course, this is the playoffs, so guys often try to play through injuries they normally shouldn’t. He’s definitely got his groove back, though.
Malkin scored just seconds after returning to the ice, getting his second of the game and putting the Pens up a whopping 5-0, thanks to three powerplay goals. Now, he’s got four points tonight alone, and the Pens have seven powerplay goals in this series so far.
With 5:30 left in the game, Bonino took a seat in the sin bin for slashing. The PK took the ice yet again in a game – and series – that has seen a lot of work from each side’s special teams. Despite missing one of their best penalty killers, the Pens did their job perfectly again.
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The Rangers would end their game a man down as Oscar Lindberg took a penalty for hooking with just 27 seconds remaining. The Pens ended the game with a score of 5-0, thoroughly trouncing the Rangers.
The first team has moved on to the second round of the playoffs, as the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Detroit Red Wings earlier tonight. The Pens can easily join them on Saturday if they continue to play strong hockey like this.