New York, NEW York: It was a hockey party in honor of all the veterans of the armed forces at Madison Square Garden as the Navy Marching Band played the national anthem. In this metropolitan division game, the New York Rangers (7-6-2) will face the Pittsburgh Penguins (10-3-1), without Ryan McDonaugh, the new Rangers captain (separated shoulder).
It was the first regular-season divisional game between the two teams since last season’s Stanley Cup playoffs, when the Rangers beat the Penguins in an electrifying seven-game stretch.
That night, the victorious Rangers were joined by an intrepid Henrik Lundqvist on the net, with Marc Andre Fleury being passed at the other end for the Penguins. On their best nights, there can be no better goalkeeper match than between the flower and King Henrik.
The first penalty of the game at 0:57 included Ranger mats Zuccarello and penguin Sidney Crosby in front of the Pittsburgh goal, which sent the Penguins captain to the penalty box for disturbance. Fleury’s smart play in front of the net helped the Penguins with a man down.
During the two-minute power play, the Rangers were held to 3 shots and 0 points, resulting in 38 consecutive penalties being finished by The Penguins PK unit. The Rangers set a fast pace for much of the first period, Martin St.Louis sending his best into the Pittsburgh net. It was obvious that the momentum of the last previous playoff round was continuing, like the one between these two teams in April.
The New York Rangers celebrate one of five goals in a home win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Nov.11 at Madison Square Garden. (Photo courtesy of AP),
Lundqvist made a big break, helped by former Penguins forward Tanner Glass, as the forward hit the puck from the goal line, out of the crease and on the ice to the rude zone. Zuccarello won the next confrontation, driving the puck over Marc Andre Fleury’s left shoulder to score the first goal of the game, assisted by Derek Stepan at 8:23.
Shortly after, at 10:59 a.m., Marty St.Louis took advantage of a quick and skillful skating and was rewarded for a spectacular first half by sending the second goal past the Pittsburgh goalkeeper to make the game 2-0. The assists for the second goal went to Rick Nash and Marc Staal of the Rangers.
New York got into the net and scored again, catching the Pittsburgh defense with assists from Kevin Hayes, former Penguin Lee Stempniak and a snap shot from former Nashville predator Kevin Klein, who held the puck behind Fleury’s hand and made the score 3-0.
Excellent saves from King Henrik prevented the Penguins from scoring in the first half, although Pittsburgh’s prolific power play remained on the ice for 48.6 seconds. A good start by the Rangers was highlighted by victorious skirmishes, a hard foredeck and incessant wash hunts.
The second period focused entirely on New York’s offense, although it began with a Pittsburgh power play after a penalty for hooking the Rangers’ Derek Stepan. Without conceding a goal, the Rangers responded with relentless pressure on the Penguins defense. New York experienced a near miss when a wave around the Penguin network led to a redesign of the game. The call was not a goal because the referee concluded that Fleury was disabled and the match continued.
The Rangers came back at 9:15 thanks to a penalty by Steve Downie of the Penguins. To make it 4-0 in numerical terms, Derick Brassard deflected a shot from the right playing circle onto Fleury’s glove. That goal ended the Penguins’ penalty count at 39, highlighting what had been a boring Rangers man before. So far, the competition has proven that a goalkeeper is only as good as the defense in front of him.
The Rangers’ Dan Girardi was ejected for slumping early in the third to give the Penguins an unsuccessful power play. The momentum stayed in New York, even if it was at a disadvantage in numbers as forward Rick Nash stole the puck and scored a goal against Pittsburgh’s first power-play unit, including star defenseman Kris Letang. Fan-favorite, fast-paced 4v4 Hockey followed with a boarding penalty from the Rangers’ Tanner Glass and unsportsmanlike behavior from Letang at 8:45 a.m.
Time ran out on the Rangers penalty and a one-minute power play continued without result, while the match fell to 5-5. The rest of the period included a closed Rangers defense and impeccable play by goalkeeper Lundqvist. The Penguins” normally point-heavy rude juggernaut failed to score a point, their seven-game winning streak snapped by the Rangers who gladly snapped their own two-game losing streak in a row.
