Rangers at Penguins - 02-21-12

FIRST PERIOD

19:33: Gaborik pulls off a check from the great Joe Vitale on the right wing half wall, spins away and flings a wrister at the cage. Fleury kicks it away.

18:51: Ryan Callahan takes a pass from Brad Richards, gains the blue line and whips a heavy wrister on net from the high slot. Fleury eats it up.

18:10: Brandon Prust controls the puck on the right wing in the Penguins' zone but loses it on a stick on puck by Zbynek Michalek.

17:21: The Rangers have a slight control of play early this period. Former Penguin Mike Rupp flings a wrister from the top of the slot. Fleury gloves it.

15:40: Chris Kunitz recovers a loose puck in the neutral zone, races up the left wing into the offensive zone and lifts a wrister on net from above the left circle. Lundqvist bodies it down with his chest. Neal follows up on the rebound and pokes it on net. Lundqvist kicks that out as well. Malkin crashes in on the rebound but doesn't get a clean stick on it and crashes into the cage dislodging it.

15:05: Off a faceoff in the left circle, Richard Park whips a quick wrister on net. Lundqvist kicks it out.

14:23: Callahan snaps off a wrister from the left wing, Fleury kicks it to the near corner.

14:14: Carl Hagelin controls a puck behind the Penguins' net, fights off a check from Martin, emerges to the right of the cage and slides a feed through the crease. Richards is there but is just step slow and can't get a stick on the pass.

13:23: Cooke attempts a one-timer from the top of the slot but is off balance and falls on his hip. Oof.

12:30: Neal makes a nice play to steal a puck off Anisimov in the right wing corner and deals a pass to the slot where Kunitz is. Kunitz partially fans on the slot. Lundqvist steers it away.

12:07: Michalek corrals a puck at the left point, puts it on his forehand and pumps a slapper on net. Lundqvist locates it through traffic and fights it off.

11:52: From deep on the right wing, Kunitz slides a pass to Malkin in the left circle. Malkin mistimes the shot and partially fans on it sending the puck wide.

11:36: Sullivan rushes up the right wing and deals a snazzy through the legs pass to Staal in the left circle. Staal has a clean look at the net but he gets tripped up before he can shoot. No call.

11:23: Martin fires a slapper from the right point wide of the cage..

11:18: Martin snaps off a wrister from the slot. Callahan blocks it.

10:33: Callahan is able to steal a puck behind his net and chips it oup ice off the right wing boards down ice. He takes the icing call to get his team a breather. The Penguisn controlled the puck for at least two minutes in the New York zone. Rangers coach John Tortorella takes a time out to get his players a breather.

9:53: From the right circle of the Penguins' zone, Prust backhands a pass to the top of the crease. Brian Boyle is there but Letang gets to the puck first and breaks up the play. heady effort by Letang.

7:43: Anton Strlaman plays a puck from the left wing corner of his own zone up the ice. As soon as he releases it, BOOM! Adams runs him over. That was the definition of "taking a hit to make a play."

6:46: Richard snaps off a wrister from above the right circle. Fleury makes the save and knocks the rebound into the air with his stick. Kris Letang swats it out of danger with his right arm ala Dikembe Mutumbo.

{youtube width="465" height="345"}24wjS0MbDts{/youtube}

6:04: Play is halted at the Rangers' blue line. Neal takes exception to something by Stepan. Stepan shoves him to the ice. Neal looked like he exaggerated that shove a just a bit.

5:39: Off some strong work by the great Jove Vitale behind the Rangers' net, Cooke snaps off a wrister from a bad angle on the right wing. Lundqvist kicks it out.

5:45: Rupp makes a strong move to fight off a check from Deryk Engelland in the right wing corner of the Penguins' zone. He taps a backhanded pass to John Mitchell racing into the offensive zone. Mitchell makes a strong move from his backhand to his forehand and appears to have Fleury beat. Michalek knocks the puck off his blade with another poke check. Great defensive play!

3:50: A rough way for Ben Lovejoy to return to the lineup. He flings a puck out of play from his own zone. That's two minutes for delay of game. Martin, Jordan Staal, Michalek, and Adams take the ice.

2:44: Brandon Dubinsky takes a pass on the left wing and puts a wrister on net from a bad angle. Fleury holds it out.

2:31: Richards fumbles a puck in the neutral zone. Cooke takes it right off him, gains the offensive zone on the right wing and taps a pass to Letang trailing on the play. Letang deals it back to Cooke deep on the right wing. Cooke lifts a little wrister right into Lundqvist who makes the save. Richards owes Lundqvist a beer there.

1:50: From the right wing boards of his own zone, Martin chips the puck down ice to kill off the rest of Lovejoy's minor. Great effort by the Penguins' penalty kill.

0:59: Kunitz circles out of the left wing corner of the Rangers' zone and distributes the puck to Letang at the right point. Letang winds up and pumps a slapper on net. Lundqvist eats it up.

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

FIRST INTERMISSION

-That was a pretty good period overall for the Penguins. After a slightly hesitant start, the fed off a good offensive chance by Kunitz, Malkin and Neal and quietly controlled the rest of the period. They maintained puck possession in the New York zone for most of the period.

-The reconfigured defensive pairings seem to be a little sharper than what we saw in Buffalo Sunday. All six defensemen cut down errors and just don't seem nearly as shaky.

-We're digging this line of Arron Asham, Cooke and thre great Joe Vitale. During the 2010 preaseason, the team tried to put together a prickly third line of Asham, Cooke and Maxime Talbot but an injury to Asham prevented it from happening. Sub in Vitale for Talbot and you have that line reformed. It created a few things offensively that period by just being physical.

-New flash. Henrik Lundqvist is good.

-The Penguins have an 11-6 lead in shots.

-Callahan and Cooke each led the game with two shots.

-Ryan McDonah leads the game with 8:53 of ice time.

-Letang is right behind him with 8:47.

-The Rangers have an 11-9 edge in faceoffs (55 percent).

-Mitchell and Malkin are each 3 for 5 (60 percent).

-No one has more than one blocked shot.

SECOND PERIOD

18:55: The Penguins strike first. Letang controls a puck in the right circle of his own zone and banks it up ice off the left wing boards. Malkin is cherry picking a bit, claims the puck in the neutral zone, gains the offensive zone, glides towards the net, cuts across the front of the blue pain, gets Lundqvist to slide down and lifts a wrister over the left leg of Lundqvist. What a smooth effort. The "Woo-Hoo!" song and "Malkamania" videos are played. Letang and Dupuis get assists. Penguins 1-0.

{youtube width="465" height="345"}iRyO26H3GhM{/youtube}

{youtube width="465" height="266"}g_z4Pt-s0AI{/youtube}

18:34: Malkin rushes into the offensive zone again one-on-one with Dan Girardi. Girardi makes a nice stick on puck play and knocks the puck off Malkin's blade.

16:33: Kunitz digs a puck out of a pile up on the left wing boards creates a little space and deals a pass to Neal on the right wing. Neal chops a one-timer wide on the near side.

16:23: Niskanen is nabbed for cross checking Prust on the left wing boards of the Rangers' zone. Prust went down a little too easily. A soggy tissue box would have put up more resistance. Jordan Staal, Adams, Michalek and Martin each take the ice.

15:35: Richards chops a slapper from the top of the slot. It hits a body in front. Callahan and Derek Stepan each have a chance on the rebound but can't get a clean shot off.

15:01: Another great stick check by Michalek. Richards controls the puck to the left of the cage. Michalek slides down and appears to be out of hte play but he ends up poke checking the puck away from Richards. Michael Del Zotto tries to corrall it at the left point but the puck JUUUUUST slides over the blue line. Fantastic effort by Michalek.

14:34: HUGE save by Fleury. HUGE! Anisimov coasts into the offensive zone with acres of ice. Letang and Engelland almost appear unprepared for Anisimov. Anisimov takes advantage of the free ice and moves in on net with  a clean look at the net. As Fleury slides down, Anisimov lifts a backhander. Fleury sticks with the puck and robs it with a fantastic glove save. Wow!

14:23: The Niskanen minor is killed. Big effort by the Penguins once again.

11:28: After a few stagnant minutes Dubinsky circles out of the right wing corner and deals a little pass to McDonagh in the right circle. McDonagh makes a deft little

11:12: The Rangers are creating things, Dubinsky deals a pass to the right wing circle. It it hits a stick in front an deflects to McDonagh in the right circle. As Fleury scrambles to get into position, McDonagh snaps off a wrister to the far side which beats Fleury's right skate and clunks off the far post. A break for the Penguins

10:26: Chris Kunitz creates something with basic, simple effort he pushes the puck up the slot in the Ranger's zone and is tripped up by Marc Staal. Malkin, Neal, Kunitz, Sullivan and Letang take the ice.

9:51: Letang controls the puck at the top of the slot and deals a pass to Sullivan to the left of the cage. Sullivan re-directs the puck wide on the near side.

9:38: Letang deals a pass from left point to Neal down low to the right of the cage. Neal hammers a shot wide.

9:16: Neal chucks a wrister from the right point towards the cage. Kunitz is in front and re-directs it out of play with the shaft of his stick.

8:46: The Penguins cash in with the power play. Malkin controls the puck at the right wpoint and slides a simple pass to Sullivan at the right point. Sullivan winds up and cranks a fluttering slapper at the cage. Cooke is in front on a moving screen and appears to obstruct Lundqvist's view. The puck sails by Lundqvist's blocker and hits twine. Malkin and Cook get assists. It's Malkin's 300th career assist. The "Woo-Hoo!" song is played. Penguins 2-0.

{youtube width="465" height="345"}iRyO26H3GhM{/youtube}

8:14: Gaborik controsl the puck on the right wing and chips a pass to Richards streaking towards the net. Michalek goes sliding head first and appears to break up the pass before Richards can shoot. Another tough play by Michalek.

7:24: Adams takes a pass off Park on the right wing of the Rangers zone. Stralman hooks him up. After officials blow play dead. a scrum develops in the right wing corner. All five skaters are involved. Stu Bickel was involved in the middle of it. Officials appear to have everythign broken up when Asham and Bickel trie to start a fight at center ice. The linesmen hold them at bay as Asham drops the gloves. Both are sent to the penalty box. Those two might try to square off later.  The Penguins appeared to have a power play off the Stralman holding minor, but Asham gets two minors - one for slashing and the other for unsportsmanlike conduct. Bickel gets an unsportsmanlike conduct minor too. Asham cost the Penguins a power play potentially.

6:16: Engelland rushes into the offensive zone and is tripped up by McDonagh. No call. Right or wrong, Engelland isn't going to get that call based on benefit of hte doubt.

5:31: After strong rush around the back of the net bu Sullivan, he deals a pass from the left wing boards to Letang at the right point. Letang deals a pass to Neal in the right circle. Neal cranks a one-timer wide of the cage.

5:08: Another tough save by Fleury. Gaborik takes a pass in the slot, gets behind Martina nd races in on a partial breakaway. Fending off Martin, he jabs a backhander on net. Fleury's left leg boots it out.

4:04: Off some stron passing by the Rangers in the offensive zone, Stepan snaps off a fluttering wrister from th left circle. Fleury reads the play and snapgs the wrister with a fancy glove save.

3:45: Attendance is announced as 18,580. It is the team's 238th consecutive sellout.

3:23: Dubinsky takes pass at the left point of his own zone but falls down and loses the puck. Dupuis jumps on it and pounds

3:06: Dubinsky bounes a slapper from the above the left circle. Fleury kicks it to the left wing boards Dubinsky chases it down and flings it at the cage. Fleury kicks it out with his left leg to the opposite wing.

1:43: After a strong cycle by the Rangers, Marc Staal takes a pass at the right point and pounds a slapper. Fleury kicks it out.

0:27: Richards snaps off a wrister from the right circle wide of the cage.

0:02: Girardi keeps a puck in the offensive zone at the left point and cranks a slapper. Fleury kicks it out despite a screen. Hagelin has a chance on the rebound but Tangradi ties up his stick enough to prevent the shot. Engelland whips it down ice out of danger.

0:00: End of period.  Penguins 2, Rangers 0.

SECOND INTERMISSION

With the exception of the final two minutes, that was a very good period for the Penguins. The pressed the issue offensively. The forced the Rangers to play in their own zone. They limited the Rangers' offensive chances.

-The Rangers controlled the final two minutes. The Penguins were lucky to escape with a two-goal lead.

-Marc-Andre Fleury was outstanding that period. He looks like he's making saves on a beach ball. He was just tuned in that period.

-Michalek has been outstanding. He looks like the 2010-11 Michalek.

-Martin has been strong too. He's played a clean game.

-The Penguin have a 20-18 edge in shots.

-Malkin leads the game with four shots.

-Dubinsky, Callahan and Richard each lead the Rangers with three shots.

-McDonagh leads the game with 17:30 of ice time.

-Letang leads the Penguins with 16:55.

-The Rangers have a 21-19 edge in faceoffs (53 percent).

-Stepan and the great Joe Vitale are each 6 for 9 (67 percent).

-Michalek and Marc Staal each lead the game with two blocked shots.

THIRD PERIOD

19:32: Richards wheels around Letang on the right wing of the Penguins' zone and has a seemingly free ride to the net. Martin backs up Letang and knocks the puck away. Great play.

18:51: The Penguins get another power play. After Boyle chips a backhander from the right wing towards the crease. Dubinsky scates through the crease and clips Fleury. Fleury sells the contact well and tumbles. That's two minutes for goaltending interference. Malkin, neal, Kunitz, Letang and Sullivan take the ice.

18:12: Letang tees up a slappe shot from the top of the slot wide of the cage.

17:32: The Penguins' power play is nullifed as Cooke heads to the box for interference. He set a pick on Del Zotto in the left wing corner to create space for Niskanen. That's a legit call by the book, but the standard has not been uphled since the all-star break. Four on four for 41 seconds.

16:51: The Dubinsky minor is killed. The Rangers will have 1:19 of power play time.

16:33: Del Zotto hits Richards with a pass in thte slot. Richards snasp off a wrister but Michalek goes stick on puck and deflects the shot wide. Richards is going to see No. 4 in his sleep tonight.

16:16: Richards chops a slapper from the left circle. Fleury squares up and kicks it out.

15:45: Del Zotto snaps off a wrister rom the left point. It hits a body inf ront and deflects over the cage.

15:32: The Cooke minor expires. Another strong effor b ythe Penguins power play.

13:51: Lovejoy chases down a loose puck above the right circle and fires a one-timer on net. It rises up and hits off Lundqvist's lid creating a "CLACK!"

13:40: Lovejoy takes a pass above the right circle and pumps a slapper on net. Lundqvist bodies it away.

13:18: It's target practice for Lovejoy he holds a puck above the right circle, lets a defender slide by and pumps another slapper on net. Lundqvist kicks it out again.

11:41: The Penguins miss a chance to seal this game. Jordan Staal dodges a check in the right circle and taps a pass across the crease to Dupuis on the back door. Dupuis has a wide open net with Lundqvist out of position but hurries the shot and taps it through the crease. off the far post and into the right wing corner. He has to bury that.

9:45: Del Zotto snaps off a wrister from the left point. It hits a body in front and deflects wide to the near side.

9:40: Del Zotto chops a slapper from avoe the left circle. It hits Tangradi and deflects wide to the far side.

9:21: In transition, Tangradi taps a pass to Park on the left wing. Park leads a  rush up the left wing into the offensive zone. He leaves a drop pass for Adams who chucks a wrister on net. Lundqvist eats it up.

8:26: Marc Staal pumps a slapper form above the left circle. It hits a body in front. Fleury scrambles looking for the rebound. It ends up on Richards' backhand to the right of the crease. Fleury is on all fours with an open net. Martin and Letang manage to force Richards wide with the puck. Another strong effort.

6:43: Mithcell controls the puck int he right wing corner. Martin engages him. He doesn't really put much muscle into defending Mitchell, but he hounds him just enough to force a turnover.

5:59: Asham coasts up the left wign on a three-on-one. He gains the offensive zone and deals a pass to Engelland in the right circle. Engelland snaps off a wrister which Lundqivst fights off.

5:02: Off a faceoff win in the left circle, Stepan sicrles around and whips a wrister which hits Mitchell in the legs.

4:00: Staal chips a from center ice down ice to the right wing corner of the Rangers' zone. Four minutes until Marc-Andre Fleury ties Tom Barrasso's franchise record of 22 shutouts. Tick, tock, tick, tock.

3:21: Off a steal by Malkin in the neutral zone, Cooke snaps off a wrister from the slot. Lundqvist bodies it away.

3:00: Malkin spins an flings a wrister from teh left cicle off the near post. Three minutes. Tick, tock, tick, tock.

2:13: With a faceoff in the Penguins' zone, the Rangers upll Lundqvist for an extra attacker.

1:36: Richard takes a pass at the left point, winds up and chops a s lapper. Fleury boots it out despite traffic.

1:02: From the left wing corner, Del Zotto deals a pass to the slot. Gaborik is there but Letang deflects the puck high.

0:37: "FLERRRR-EEEE! FLERRR-EEE!" chants begin.

0:19: Malkin circles around the offensive zone and deals a pass towards the slot. Kunitz is there but can't get a shot on the open net.

0:04: Neal and Malkin each have chances at the empty net but miss the cage.

0:00: End of period. The "Woo-Hoo"! song is played. Mike Lange informs us of Elvis' whereabouts. Fleury ties Tom Barrasso's franchise record of 22 career shutouts. Penguins 2, Rangers 0.

{youtube width="465" height="345"}iRyO26H3GhM{/youtube}

POSTGAME

-What a rebound game. After Sunday's train wreck in Buffalo, the Penguins made a committment defensively as a team and clamped down on the NHL's best team. As a result, they earned a hard-fought shutout.

-The efforts of the players on the blue line were huge. With the exception of Zbynek Michalek, all of the Penguins' defensemen stunk on Sunday. Tonight, despite having an injured Brooks Orpik replaced by a potentially rusty Ben Lovejoy as well as re-shuffled pairings, all six defensemen contributed something positive to this win.

-Paul Martin had his game of the season. He was teamed with Kris Letang and those two routinely drew assignments against the Rangers' top two lines. Marian Gaborik was nearly invisible as a result. Martin seemed to have more confidence tonight and used his stick and body positioning to his advantage. He looked like the 2010-11 verson of Paul Martin.

-Zbynek Michalek was everywhere. Brad Richards is going to stab anything with the No. 4 on it after this game. Michalek hounded him the entire game and prevented the Rangers' highest paid player from doing much offensively.

-Lovejoy was strong too. He came into the lineup, kept things clean in his own end and even contributed a little in terms of offensive chances.

-Kris Letang was Kris Letang. He's been steady for the most part all season. He was a force in all three zones again tonight.

-You just know there some bitter Marc-Andre Fleury basher who is getting all huffy over that one shot he let hit off the far post in the second period. The guy had a shutout. And he did it against the best team in the NHL. The haters can shut up for one night at least.

-We were really impressed with what Eric Tangradi did defensively tonight. The knock on him has always been that he doesn't offer much in his own zone. He had a few key plays tonight. At the end of the second period, he tied up the stick of Carl Hagelin and prevented a shot from in tight as the Rangers controlled play. Additionally, he had a block on Michael Del Zotto mid-way through the third which led to an offensive chance in transition for Craig Adams. Tangradi showed some impressive wheels for a man his size tonight and he used them.

-Special teams were obviously critical. The Penguins got a goal out of its power play and shut down all three power plays for the Rangers.

-Officiating was pretty awful again tonight. Just far too many inconsistencies with what is a penalty and what isn't.

-How did the Rangers allow Evgeni Malkin to have acres of ice to work with on his goal? You can't allow any player - let alone one that skilled - to roam that freely with the puck. Lundqvist, probably the best goaltender in the NHL, was dead to rights there.

Of the goal, Lundqvist said, "It's tough. He's one of the best. I tried to be patient. He kept dragging, dragging, dragging and I didn't have enough push when I went down. He just out-waited me there. It's disappointing in a one-on-one situation like that, obviously you want to come up with the save and make the difference for the team. He's a tough guy, no question. He's the difference for them."

"There was nobody there so he kind of slowed down and he came from the side. It's tough. I have to go down and cover because he's so close. I just need a better push when I go down. Some other player will shoot earlier but he kept waiting. I need a stronger push right away when I go down. If he's shooting the first second or so, I'll be fine. But he kept just waiting, waiting. I ran out of gas on that push."

-Lundqvist declined to call out a teammate for letting Malkin get free like that. Rangers coach John Tortorella didn't have any such issues. He said, "It's a dumb play by Michael Del Zotto. You just can't throw a backhand flipper into the middle of the ice ... late in your shift. We gathered our self in the first period. I thought the last half of the period we played pretty well. And we start the next period by throwing a backhand bomb in the  middle to no one and they capitalized. They're a good team. They can capitalized on those plays."

-The Penguins led in shots, 31-27.

-Malkin led the game with five.

-Richards led the Rangers with four.

-Letang led the game with 28:41.

-Ryan McDonagh led the Rangers with 25:19.

-The Rangers had a 27-26 edge in faceoffs (51 percent).

-Derek Stepan was 8 for 12 (67 percent).

-The great Joe Vitale was 8 for 15 (53 percent).

-Michalek, Marc Staal and John Mitchell each led the game with three blocked shots.

-As mentioned before, Fleury tied Tom Barrasso's franchise record of 22 shutouts.

-Malkin recorded his 300th career assist.

-Steve Sullivan played in his 950th career game.

-Game summary.

-Event summary.

-Highlights: