Of more concern for New York is the fact that the team has lost its last four playoff games at Madison Square Garden.TV: 7 p.m. ET, CNBC, TVAS, Sportsnet, ROOT (Pittsburgh), MSG (New York)ABOUT THE PENGUINS: After being forced to start third-string netminder Jeff Zatkoff in the first two games, Pittsburgh received a boost when backup goaltender Matt Murray returned from a concussion to earn the victory in the postseason debut. For the third spring in a row, they will attempt to come back from a three games to one deficit to win a Stanley Cup playoff series.
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This performance says things probably will be different this time.
“I think he took another big step tonight”, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “But I think it’s important that we apply pressure and get in on the forecheck”. When it came to puck retrieval and then carrying it out of the zone, that was simply not a menu option that the Penguins were allowing.
Now trailing the series 3-1, the Rangers face playoff elimination Saturday when they face the Penguins in Game Five in Pittsburgh at CONSOL Energy Center. NY went 0-4 on the power play, while surrendering three goals on six powerplay opportunities to Pittsburgh.Rick Nash eventually opened the scoring for NY early in the second before Sidney Crosby tied it 1-1 in the period’s final minute.
New York Rangers fans deserve much more than what they witnessed last night. “They’re a hard group to stop”. In the last two games the Rangers had four power plays in each and were held scoreless by the Penguins.
And Lundqvist began that process immediately after the disappointment of Game 4. Lundqvist was unable to control a shot by defenseman Ben Lovejoy and that allowed Fehr to slip the rebound home for his first goal of the postseason. The Penguins got some good news before the game, with Matt Murray being announced the starter during warm-ups.
“But I know I can help the team”.
“It’s not a good feeling to sit here down 3-1”, Lundqvist said. “Biggest game of the year, season on the line, here”.
“That one’s over, and we’ve got to do it again”, Crosby said. Staring down Henrik Lundqvist, Cullen snapped a shot through the goaltender’s legs for his second playoff goal in 14 games across six years.
Conor Sheary extended the lead to 3-0 when he stole the puck from Kevin Klein, raced down the left side and beat Lundqvist cleanly on his blocker side from above the left dot with 3:48 left. He wasn’t tested much, with the best Rangers chances shot directly into the logo on the Penguins netminder’s jersey. “At the same time, at this point in the season, it really doesn’t matter until you win the fourth one”. “I thought our penalty kill did a real nice job and kind of gave our team the momentum coming out of that”. You can put him in every situation. “We’ll enjoy this one for the night and move on”.
Seven Penguins were on the roster against the Rangers in 2014: forwards Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Chris Kunitz and Beau Bennett, defensemen Kris Letang and Olli Maatta, and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.
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And more to the point after Thursday’s rather shockingly one-sided 5-0 victory by the Penguins, they have left the Rangers with zero wiggle room in which to find answers amid a boatload of self-doubt. Ian Cole, who was once a regular healthy scratch for the Penguins, has been impressive since making his way back into the lineup. It was Lindberg’s third game since March 13…. Rangers D Dan Girardi missed his second straight game with what the team called a general body injury….
