|
 Lundqvist made 34 saves for his third shutout of the season as the
Rangers won their fourth game in a row, 3-0 against the Pittsburgh
Penguins at Consol Energy Center.
It was Lundqvist's 58th career shutout and his sixth all-time
against the Penguins as he improved to 27-14-4.
Right winger Kevin Hayes, center Dominic Moore and right winger
Jesper Fast provided the goals for the Rangers, who held onto a 1-0
lead for much of the game.
"We smothered them," Hayes said. "They didn't get many grade-A
chances. They got a lot of shots on net, but that's why we have
Henrik. He makes the first save and they didn't really get a lot of
rebound shots, and that just shows how good our team defense has
been lately and the reason why we got a shutout here."
Lundqvist and New York stifled a Pittsburgh offense that had been
prolific recently. The Penguins won each of their previous six home
games, averaging 4.7 goals a game, and they won six of their
previous seven overall.
In addition to the 34 Penguins shots that got through to Lundqvist,
they launched another 25 that were blocked by the Rangers and 14
that missed the net, including a couple off of the crossbar.
"Yes, they got a lot of shot attempts, but we were keeping to the
outside, and when they got on the inside Hank made some big saves,"
New York coach Alain Vigneault said.
"I thought for the most part we played their top players well. We
had back pressure. We made sure we had (an advantage in) numbers."
Pittsburgh center Sidney Crosby, in particular, had been racking up
points at a strong pace. He entered the game with an 11-game point
streak, a nine-game home goal streak, a seven-game overall goal
streak and 12 points in his previous four games. In this one, he had
no shots and was on the ice for all three New York goals.
"I felt like we were getting to loose pucks and rebounds," Lundqvist
said. "We were right there to help me clean things up. We knew
coming into this building that we're playing a really hot team and
their top player is playing really well. It was a great challenge
for us."
It was the teams' first meeting of the season, and the first time
they played since the Rangers beat the Penguins in five games in the
first round of the 2014-15 playoffs. In that series -- and a losing
second-round series against New York a year earlier -- Pittsburgh
struggled to score.
That doesn't mean the Rangers were in the Penguins' head in terms of
offense.
"I think what's happened in the past is in the past," Crosby said.
"We had some good chances. They capitalized on theirs, and we
didn't."
[to top of second column] |
Hayes got a rebound of a shot by left winger Tanner Glass and,
moving to his right in front of the crease, created an angle that
gave him a wide opening behind goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury for a
1-0 New York lead at 8:34 of the first period.
At that point, the Rangers were able to move into shutdown mode.
"We were facing a really good team that was focusing on defense in
the game, so it's going to be hard," said Pittsburgh defenseman Kris
Letang. "You don't play the Rangers and expect to score seven goals.
"They're a good shot-blocking team, too. They just jammed the front
of the net. It's just a matter of (us) finishing."
That one-goal count held until Moore scored off of a two-on-one with
center Chris Kreider at 4:21 of the third period. Moore kept the
puck, and from the top of the right circle, snapped the puck far
side over Fleury's shoulder to make it 2-0.
Fast added an empty-netter with 1:31 left in regulation.
Fleury finished with 19 saves.
Pittsburgh defenseman Trevor Daley did not return after the first
period. There was no explanation for his absence, but it's possible
he got hurt during the first period when he crashed back-first into
a goal post.
NOTES: Pittsburgh played its third game in a row without C Evgeni
Malkin, who was listed earlier in the week as day-to-day with a
lower-body injury but now will miss at least the next two games. ...
The Penguins scratched D Ian Cole and LW Sergei Plotnikov. ...
Rangers G Henrik Lundqvist's start gave him 666 appearances, tying
Mike Richter for the most in team history. ... New York D Ryan
McDonagh (concussion) and LW Rick Nash (leg injury) did not make the
trip. McDonagh missed his second game in a row, Nash his seventh.
... The Rangers had no healthy scratches. ... Pittsburgh's next two
games on Friday at Carolina and Monday at Florida will serve as a
fathers trip. ... The Rangers play their next three at home,
beginning Friday against Los Angeles.
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
