Penguins Push Blueshirts to Brink of Elimination
Evgeni Malkin and the perfect Pittsburgh Penguins pushed the Rangers to the brink of elimination.
Malkin, hours after being announced as a finalist for the NHL MVP award, scored two powerplay goals and added an assist to lift Pittsburgh to a 5–3 victory last night that stretched the Penguins' lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal series to 3–0.
The Penguins are 7–0 in the postseason, still rolling after a four-game sweep of Ottawa in the first round.
They eked out wins at home in the opening two games against the Rangers, rallying from a 3–0 deficit to win Game 1 and prevailing 2–0 on Sunday on the strength of Marc-Andre Fleury's shutout. Pittsburgh, which lost all four road meetings with the Rangers this season, can advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2001 as early as Thursday. Only two teams have come back to win a series after trailing 3–0. The 1975 Islanders did it to the Penguins in the second round.
New York, which dominated the shot clock with a 39–17 edge, had the stirring rally in this one, erasing a two-goal deficit in the second period. But Malkin restored the Penguins' lead before the frame was finished, then won a key faceoff in the Rangers end that helped set up Ryan Malone's goal that made it 5-3 at 2:30 of the third. Marian Hossa, Georges Laraque and Malkin scored for Pittsburgh around a goal by New York's Martin Straka in the first period.
Ryan Callahan and Jaromir Jagr struck 1:04 apart in the second to tie it.
The Rangers held a 15–9 shots edge in the first period and 14-4 through 40 minutes, but trailed for most of the game.
Just when it seemed the Rangers were going to blow right past the Penguins, a careless boarding penalty by Ryan Hollweg put Pittsburgh back on the power play. And despite being outshot 29-13, the Penguins regained the lead with another advantage goal. New York pressed for the go-ahead score after its two quick ones forged a 3-3 tie. The Penguins were tired in their own zone when Hollweg, a healthy scratch for the first two games of the series, drilled Petr Sykora from behind into the boards.
With quick, crisp passes that slid all over the Rangers end during the advantage, the Penguins moved the New York defenders around in exhausting fashion. Callahan struggled to keep up, even crouching to go into shot-blocking position, despite being out of gas. Sidney Crosby's pass nicked Callahan before getting to Malkin in the right circle.
