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No Crosby, No Malkin, No problem: Penguins defeat Rangers 3-2 to begin dad's trip

The Penguins were without their two-headed monster in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on Friday night in New York, but it did not matter as they picked up a massive victory right before the break.
ByTyler Miller|
Feb 7, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Rickard Rakell (67) plays the puck against New York Rangers defenseman Will Borgen (17) during the first period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Feb 7, 2025; New York, New York, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Rickard Rakell (67) plays the puck against New York Rangers defenseman Will Borgen (17) during the first period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Coming into Friday night's game against the Rangers, when it was announced that Sidney Crosby would not play every Penguins fan expected the team to lay an egg and lose. But that was not the case as they actually played their best game of the season and silenced the New York crowd in a big 3-2 victory in front of the Penguins' dads.

Blake Lizotte, Rickard Rakell, and Phillip Tomasino were the goal scorers for the Penguins and Tomasino's second period powerplay goal was the game winning goal in this one for the Black and Gold.

First Period

The first period in this one was seriously controlled by the Penguins even though the shots on goal were close. The Penguins out attempted the Rangers 26-9 in the first period, led in shots on goal 10-7 after the first period, but trailed where it mattered 1-0 on the scoreboard after the first period.

Defenseman Erik Karlsson was trying to leave his own zone, and instead of using the boards to get the puck up the ice, he lazily threw the puck up the middle of the ice where Rangers forward Vincent Trocheck was there to intercept it and pot it for a 1-0 Rangers lead.

Second Period

This period is really where the action picked up and saw most of the goals being scored. It started 2:25 into the period where Blake Lizotte tied the game at 1 off a pretty pass from Noel Acciari.

But typical Penguins style, they gave it right back, as 1:04 later, they let defenseman Adam Fox walk right down to the slot and rip it past Nedeljkovic for a 2-1 Rangers lead.

But Rickard Rakell said not so fast as he tied it back up at 9:07 of the second for his 25th goal of the season.

Tomasino joined in on the party on the powerplay as the Rangers left him alone in front of the net and he ripped it past Shesterkin for a 3-2 Penguins lead and they took that lead into the third period.

Third Period

The final period of this game was mainly just a hold on for dear life period. The Penguins did not register a shot on goal in the third, got outshot 7-0, and killed 2 late penalties to preserve the lead and the win.

Noel Acciari was huge in the third on both penalty kills as he threw his body in front of every puck he could find and that was all she wrote from Madison Square Garden.

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