Penguins at Rangers - 01-19-12

 

FIRST PERIOD

18:53: Chris Kunitz snaps off a wrister from the top of the slot. Lundqvist kicks it out. Neal follows up on the rebound but Ryan McDonagh stick checks him and prevents a shot. Excellent defensive play.

18:31: Ruslan Fedtenko used to be a Penguin:

12:55: After a few stagnant minutes, Matt Cooke whips a wrister on net from the left circle. Lundqvist kicks it out.

12:45: Sullivan swats a shot on net from the right half wall. Lundqvist kicks it out. Park is there for the rebound but Lundqvist poke checks it away.

12:26: Malkin motors up the right wing, gets a step on Dan Girardi and backhands a shot on net. Lundqvist knocks it dead and covers. Malkin can expect a healthy dose of McDonagh and Giradi tonight.

11:04: Off a faceoff, Tangradi and Stu Bickel drop the gloves in the neutral zone. They take off their lids, circle around and lock up. Tangradi throws one punch and that's pretty much it for him. Bickell chucks a bunch of rights, landing only afew. Both players slip to the ice and head to their penalty boxes.

10:40: Off a feed from Richards, Brandon Dubinsky has a chance in tight but no dice.

10:25: Richards zips up the right wing, gains the Penguins' blue line and chucks a wrister at the cage. Marc Staal drives to the cage and re-directs it on net. Fleury knocks it dead and covers to freeze play.

10:12: Malkin tries to avoid a hit by Brian Boyle on the left wing boards of the Penguins' zone with his patented "duck" move. Michalek skates over to engaged Boyle. The shove each other around. Boyle and Michalek end up with upnsportsmanlike conduct minors.

9:31: Marian Gaborik taps a feed to Derek Stepan in the left circle. Stepan snaps off a wrister which Fleury fights off.

8:23: Kunitz runs over Ryan Callahan on the right wing boards at the Rangers' blue line.

7:32: Deryk Engelland drives a one-timer from the right point. Lundqvist fights it off.

6:51: Engelland snaps off a wrister from the top of the slot. It hits a body in front.

5:33: Dupuis snaps off a wrister from deep on the left wing. Lundqvist denies him.

3:52: Cooke snaps off a wrister from the right circle. Staal blocks it.

2:30: In deep on the right wing, Engellands snaps off a low wrister. Lundqvist steers it away with his paddle.

1:35: Fleury plays a puck behind the net and is bumped from behind by Martin who is shoved by Brandon Prust. Martin turns and gives some grief to Prust but nothign comes of it.

0:00: End of period. Penguins 1, Rangers 0.

FIRST INTERMISSION

-That was a feisty 20 minutes. Both teams mixed it up a pretty fair amount. You'd think this was a game between two teams fighting for a playoff spot instead of two teams with 10 points separating them.

-The Penguins might have the oldest/shortest third line in the NHL with Cooke (33/5-11), Park (35/5-11) and Sullivan (37/5-8).

-So much for easing Kris Letang back into the lineup. He leads the Penguins with 8:29 of ice time on 11 shifts. He also has one shot.

-The Penguins have a 14-8 lead in shots.

-Engelland, Michalek, Kunitz, Girardi and Stepan each lead the game with two shots.

-McDonagh lead the game with 9:15 of ice time.

-The Rangers have an 11-8 lead in faceoffs (58 percent).

-Richards is 7 for 8 (88 percent).

-Dustin Jeffrey is 2 for 3 (67 percent).

-No one has more than one blocked shot.

SECOND PERIOD

17:32: Dubinsky whips a backhander on net from the right of the crease. Fleury holds it out.

17:27: Dubinsky controls the puck behind the net , gets a shove from behind and takes a tumble. As he does it, he whips his stick up and whacks Letang in the face. That's two minutes for high sticking. It looked like a dive too.  Malkin, Neal, Kunitz, Letang and Sullivan take the ice.

16:51: Neal has a chacne in tight to the left of the crease but can't get a clean shot off.

15:27: The return of Letang does little for the power play. The Penguins did next to nothing with that chance.

15:21: Richards leads a three on two rush up the right wing and taps a feed to Staal in the left circle. He snaps of a wrister which Fleury fights off.

14:03: Jeffrey deals a pass from the right wing to Adams all alone in the slot. Adams has 48 minutes to shoot but can't beat Lundqvist.

12:36: John Mitchell has a chance in the slot but the great Vitale steals the puck off him.

12:25: Anisimov battles Niskanen one-on-one in the slot and releases a wrister. Fleury denies it. There's a scrum after the whistle but nothing comes of it.

11:37: Cooke appears to get away with a trip on Richards in the left circle of the Rangers' zone.

11:03: Malkin circles around the offensive zone and from the slot he deals a pass to Martin deep on the left wing. Martin snaps off a wrister which deflects out of play.

10:04: Martin recovers a puck in the slot, moves  into the offensive zone and snaps off a heavy wrister. Lundqvist fights it off.

9:54: Martin's aggressive play bites the Penguins. In transition, Gaborik gains the offensive zone on the right wing and chips a backhanded pass to the left wing. Carl Hagelin settles the puck and from the left circle, he snaps off a wrister which clunks its way through Fleury's gear and into the cage. Fleury needs to control that puck and Martin needs to get back after that offensive rush. Gaborik and McDonagh get assists. That "LET'S-GO RAN-GERS!" song plays. Penguins 1, Rangers 1.

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8:32: Off some hard work behind the cage, Hagelin chips a backhander from the right circle. Fleury kick it ot ot a deep angle on the right wing. Gaborik is there for the rebound and a wide open net. He's kind of hancuffed a bit by the rebound and ends up chopping right into Fleury who was out of place. Fleury makes the fortunate save.

8:10: Malkin goes one-on-one with McDonagh off the right wing He cuts to the slot and slides a backhander on net. Lundqvist holds it out.

7:07: Boyle has a chance in right but can't beat Fleury from the right side of the cage.

5:01: Leading a three-on-two rush into the offensive zone, Jeffrey deals a pass to Kennedy on right wing. Kennedy grips and rips a wrister to the far side. Lundqvist steers it away with his blocker.

3:21: Gaborik chugs towars the net off the right wing and snaps off a wrister. Martin goes stick on puck and deflects it out of play.

2:56: Hagelin has a chance from the left circle blocked by Niskanen.

2:22: Gaborik lifts a wrister from the right circle. Fleury bodies it away despite having Fedotenko make contact with him.

2:14: Neal and Fedotenko hustle for a loose puck in the neutral zone. Neal nudges him to the ice. Fedotenko falls a little too easily. Neal is sent off for interference. Adams, Cooke, Orpik and Michalek take the ice.

0:41: Anisimov has a chance in the left circle but his shot is blocked by Martin.

0:14: Neal's minor is killed. The Rangers did little with that chance.

0:01: Dupuis chases down a loose puck in the right circle, spins and chops a blind slapper on net. Lundqvist fights it off.

0:00: End of period. Penguins 1, Rangers 1.

SECOND PERIOD

-Things settled down a bit that period in terms of the chippiness but it was still pretty intense. There wasn't much space for either team to work with. Every bit of ice is being contested.

-The Penguins probably benefited from a few non-calls that period.

-Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Callahan each have this subtle level of dirtiness to their game. They're like a poor man's Ryan Kesler. Dirty, but not obivious about it.

-Paul Martin has made one bad play and several little good ones.

-Malkin continues to get a steady diet of Girardi and McDonagh.

-The Penguins have a 23-18 lead in shots.

-Dupuis, Malkin, Stepan and Gaborik each lead the game with three shots.

-McDonagh leads the game with 17:42 of ice time.

-Letang leads the Penguins with 16:25.

-The Rangers lead faceoffs, 22-17 (56 percent).

-Richards is 9 for 13 (69 percent).

-Adams is 2 for 2 (100 percent).

-Niskanen, Dupuis, Orpik and Prust each lead the game with two blocked shots.

THIRD PERIOD

19:04: Kunitz chips a backhander from the right circle. Lundqvist kicks it out.

18:10: Callahan lifts a wrister from the right circle. Fleury bodies it away.

18:05: Boyle trie to jam in a backhanded wraparound from the left side of the cage. Fleury holds it out.

17:37: Richard Park on fire. On a three-on-one. Cooke leads a rush up the right wing and slides a backhanded pass to the slot. Engelland moves it to Park in the left circle. Park whips it into the cage between Lundqvist's right shoulder and the near post. What a shot. Marc Staal pinched in badly on that play. Anton Stralman was the lone man back and he didn't have a prayer. It's Park's 99th career goal and his second in three game. Engelland and Cooke get assists. Penguins 2-1.

15:04: Kennedy hustles his way up the ice on the right wing, gains the offensive zone and swats a slapper on net. Lundqvist traps it against his body.

14:43: Letang chops a loose puck on net from the right point. Lundqvist kicks it out.

13:20: Jeffrey has a chance in tright but can't punch it by Lundqvist.

13:10: Rangers fans off a "HEN-RIK! HEN-RIK!" chant.

12:50: Whoa. What a shot. Mark Staal fumbles a puck on the left wing wall. Malkin picks it up, dances towards the slot by a sliding Del Zott and lifts a nasty backhander by the glove hand of Lundqvist. What a shot. Letang gets the only assist. Penguins 3-1.

10:36:  Jeffrey has a shot from the left circle blocked by Rupp. Fire Ray Shero.

8:53: Girardi chucks a wrister from the right wpoint which m isses the mark.

8:34: Tangradi snaps off a wrister from the right circle. Lundqvist gloves it.

7:38: Dubinsky tries to jam in a backhanded wraparound. Fleury holds it out with his blocker.

7:25: Niskanen hooks up Callahan in the slot. That's two minutes. This will be a big kill here. Dupuis, Adams, Orpik and Michalek take the ice.

7:04: Del Zotto pumps a one-timer from the right circle high of the cage.

6:34: Richards chops a slapper from the right half wall. Fleury's kicks it out. Dupuis skates the rebound out of danger.

5:47: Adams flings a loose puck down ice from his own zone to kill off the rest of Niskanen's minor. What an effort by the Penguins.

5:31: Anisimov snaps off a wrister from the slot. Michalek deflects it out of play.

5:03: Kunitz taps a pass from the right circle to Engelland at the left point. Engelland drives a slapper on net. Lundqvist kicks it out.

4:41: Malkin has a chance from the right circle but Giradi goes stick on puck and deflects the shot wide.

3:26: Michalek grips and rips a wrister from the left point through traffic. Lundqvist kicks it out.

2:41: Mitchell snaps off a low wrister from the left wing. Fleury traps it.

2:06: Hagelin chops a half slapper from the right circle off the right side of the cage.

1:58: The Penguins ice the puck and call a time-out to get a breather. The Rangers pull Lundqvist for an extra attacker.

1:48: After a turnover by Kunitz, Stepan has a chance in slot but Fleury kicks it out with a brillian kick save. Hagelen has a chance with the rebound but can't get a clean stick on it.

1:40: Kunitz chips a puck out of his zone into the neutral zone. On the left wing boards, Neal chips it up ice into to the offenzive zone, Malkin gets behind the defense, chases it down and punches it into the open cage for one of us:

-Neal and Kunitz get assists. Penguins 4-1.

0:36: McDonagh snaps off a wrister from the top of the slot wide of the cage. Prust kind of runs overs Fleury thanks in part to a shove from Niskanen. That's two minutes for interference. Prust also gets a 10-minute misconduct. Malkin, Kunitz, Neal, Letang and Sullivan take the ice.

0:00: End of game. Penguins 4, Rangers 1.

POSTGAME

-That was a statement win. The Penguins have rebounded this week, but their three-game winning streak has come against less than stellar team. They were going to get a true measure of their abilities against a first-place Rangers team which had dominated them as of late. The Penguins cut down on their mistakes tonight, took advantage of the Rangers' miscues and came away with an impressive win.

-What a difference a week can make. Seven days ago, Dan Bylsma needed fire, the Penguins HAD to trade for Jarome Iginla and everyone was calling Sidney Crosby a "C" words. Today, everyone wants to plan a parade.

-Welcome back Kris Letang. His presence seemed to provide a boost for the other five defensemen and really lightened the load for the rest of the blue line. Even if he's not producing points, Letang provides so much for this team in other areas.

-Evgeni Malkin is playing some serious hockey right now. Two weeks ago, the Rangers, particularly Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi shut him down. Tonight, he ripped them up.

-We were hesitant to buy in to this short/old guy third line of Matt Cooke-Richard Park and Steve Sullivan but we've warmed up to it. All three players skate pretty well and cause havoc with their speed. They had a strong game tonight defensively and produced the winning goal.

-Paul Martin and Zbynek Michalek are starting to look like the 2010-11 version of Paul Martin and Zbynek Michalek. They routinely took shifts against the Rangers' top two lines and limited their offensive chances.

-Marc-Andre Fleury turned out a typical game for him. He didn't shut everything down, but he made some key saves, particularly one late on Derek Stepan which sealed the win. He made that save on Stepan and that allowed Malkin to secure things with the empty net goal. Fleury makes saves like that when they matter.

-The officiating was pretty rotten. Both teams got away with quite a bit.

-The Penguins led in shots, 36-30.

-Marian Gaborik led the game with six shots.

-Malkin led the Penguins with five.

-Brooks Oprik was the only Penguins player who failed to record an official shot on net.

-Marc Staal led the game with 26:02 of ice time.

-Letang led the Penguisn with 24:17.

-The Rangers controlled faceoffs, 39-24 (62 percent).

-Brad Richards was 12 for 16 (75 percent).

-Craig Adams was 2 for 4 (50 percent).

-Martin led the game with four blocked shots.

-Girardi led the Rangers with three.

-Deryk Engelland estabilished a new career high with 11 points in 41 games. His previous career high was 10 points in 63 games last season.

-Park has 99 career goals.

-Letang now has 149 career points.

-Letang (149) moved past Dave Hannan (148) for 52nd place on the the franchise's all-time scoring list.

-Kunitz moved past Ross Lonsberry for 64th  place. Both players have 129 points, but Kunitz (57) has more goals than Lonsberry (56).

-James Neal broke into the team's top 150 career scorers with 48 points.

-Game summary.

-Event summary.

-Highlights: