Henrik Lundqvist looked just fine dealing with an eye injury as the New York Rangers stopped the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2 to even their NHL Eastern Conference quarterfinal series at one win each on Saturday.
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Lundqvist sat out the final two periods of the Game 1 setback after Staal’s stick made its way through the goaltender’s cage, scraping Lundqvist’s right eye.
The Rangers got some good news themselves when Henrik Lundqvist, who was forced to leave after the first period in Game 1 after taking a stick to the eye, was back in goal and back to his old ways, blocking 29 of 31 Pittsburgh shots.
One of the most crucial stops came at 4:26 of the second period, with the Rangers having just taken a 2-1 lead.
J.T. Miller was New York’s star of the game with a trio of assists in the Rangers’ offensive explosion. The series will now shift to Madison Square Garden in New York City where the Rangers will play host to Game 3 and Game 4.By Saturday, Zatkoff’s star returned to earth.
After the game, Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said Lundqvist would have to practice on Friday in order to play on Saturday – and he did just that, but the goalie is still a game-time decision for Game 2.
Logan Couture also scored for the Sharks, who largely dominated their California rivals in their second straight road victory. “I thought we were much sharper in the middle of the ice and allowed Hanky to see the puck and make those saves”. Zuccarello’s doubled the Rangers’ advantage on a play that looked like a mirror image of Yandle’s score, sneaking toward the far post behind Pittsburgh’s defense and slamming a pass from Miller into the net 16:52 into the second.
Benn scored on a breakaway that he ended with a backhand to make it 2-0 with 9:37 left in the game, and that was big since the Wild got their first goal of the series soon after that.
Lundqvist’s minor shiner certainly won’t be the only mark left in this series if Game 2 is any indication. 923 save percentage in 112 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
Game 1 did not go as planned for the New York Rangers. The Rangers do have a nice roster and do match up well with the Penguins but they need to find a way to contain the Pittsburgh offense and with Evgeni Malkin lined up to return things could get even tougher for NY moving forward.
The Penguins were able to cash in early on during the power play, and Phil Kessel slammed home his second goal of the afternoon.
NY kept it coming less than four minutes after that, Miller again proving the initiator.
But Lundqvist was excellent, showing no signs of rust from sitting out Wednesday’s final two periods.
Lundqvist was the first goalie to be beaten 3:21 into the second after a Mats Zuccarello penalty put the Penguins on the power play.
The third frame was played at a frenetic pace, the Penguins comeback attempts falling just short.
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Scott Laughton – Inserted into the Philadelphia lineup in the wake of the Sean Couturier injury, Laughton played a team-low 11:10, but generated five shots on goal.
