The New York Rangers will have their No. 1 goaltender in the lineup for Saturday’s playoff matinee against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
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They now want him back because I don’t think Jeff Zatkoff can beat Henrik Lundqvist in a playoff series.
NY got excellent news on Friday, as goalie Henrik Lundqvist took part in practice after leaving Game 1 with an eye injury.
Both defensemen from the top pairing that led them to the 2014 Stanley Cup Final, captain Ryan McDonagh (right hand) and Dan Girardi (injury), sat out, McDonagh for the second straight game and Girardi for the first. He said afterward that he knew he didn’t play his best, but that it felt good to get that first taste of playoff hockey under his belt.
So too are the New York Rangers with their franchise goaltender back to looking like the foundation for New York’s near annual deep postseason run.
The New York Rangers roared back into their first-round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins with a 4-2 win at CONSOL Energy Center on Saturday in Game 2 to tie the Eastern Conference series at one game apiece.
“Everybody wants to see how he’s going to react to the strain of the practice”, Vigneault said Friday in Pittsburgh.
“You just have to make sure you’re staying ready in case the team needs you and finding you times to get on the ice to get those shots and get that work”, Zatkoff said.
As much as the Rangers controlled the second part of Game 2, they kind of gave the Penguins life in the third period by committing two penalties while already on the power play.
Mats Zuccarello scored just over one minute after the stop on Rust, the recipient of one of three assists by J.T. Miller.
The Pens will be in action next on Tuesday night when they travel to New York City to take on the Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
The Penguins were able to cash in early on during the power play, and Phil Kessel slammed home his second goal of the afternoon. Penguins coach Mike Sullivan listed both as game-time decisions. “The Rangers tried to get a lot of shots to the net, and the Penguins did a job of keeping them to the outside”. Not a good sign when Chris Kunitz – Crosby – Patric Hornqvist were the team’s third most consistent line combination at even strength.
“I feel when we’re up by a goal or two, Hanky rises up and takes the challenge”, Staal said. “It’s pretty hard but I’m fine”. “When I knew there was nothing wrong with the eye, I could push myself”.
A few minutes later, NY was better than that.
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Including playoffs this season, the Rangers now have a 42-3-3 record when allowing two or fewer goals in regulation or overtime and a 5-25-6 mark when giving up three or more. At times, the Penguins really controlled the pace of play in 5-on-5 situations, but then their defensive breakdowns happened in the second period, and NY capitalized.
