Benoit Pouliot scored two goals, Lundqvist won his 5th straight game, and Brad Richards scored the deciding goal in the shootout as the Rangers beat the Penguins 4-3.
After a disappointing loss to the Oilers the night before, the Rangers were looking to bounce back in a hurry. To do so, they had to defeat the best team in the Eastern Conference, the Pittsburgh Penguins. In the last game before the Olympic break, they did just that. Pouliot got the Rangers up by one early in the first. Zuccarello made a hard-nosed effort to get the puck to the net. Fleury pinned the puck to the post and Pouliot came in late to poke it loose. Olli Maatta would even things up on the PP. Malkin backhanded a shot into Lundqvist’s pads and to the oncoming Maatta.
Just :34 seconds into the 2nd period, Dan Girardi would notch a power play goal for the blueshirts to regain the lead. The “you score, we score” trend seemed to be the key in the game because to no avail, Malkin would fire a blistering slap shot past Henrik for the Penguins 2nd PP goal in as many attempts. The second was tied at 2 after 40 minutes.
The third wouldn’t be much of a surprise. Pouliot notched his 2nd of the game and James Neal would be left open in front of the net to tie the game up at 3 and send this game into extra time. In the shootout, Zuccarello and Malkin would score almost mirror image goals through the five-hole of their opposing goaltenders, Zuccarello’s on the backhand and Makin’s on the forehand. Brad Richards held the game winner on the blade of his stick and he made the most of it. He fired a laser above the right arm of Fleury as the Rangers went into Pittsburgh and earned an important 2 points.
Did You Know? : The Rangers are tied with Anaheim with a league leading 18 road wins. Kris Letang missed the game recovering from a recent stroke.
Tiago Ramos: PureSportsNY