Rangers at Penguins - 04-05-12

FIRST PERIOD

18:49: The Penguins strike first. Malkin lugs the puck into the offensive zone and loses it in the right circle on a stick check. Park recovers it and quickly deals it back to him. Malkin circles around along the right wing boards and taps a pass to Letang at the right point Letang rips a wrister which glances off the skate of Kunitz and beats Biron by his glove on the near side. A nice, greasy dirty goal. It's Kunitz's 25th of the season. Letang and Malkin get assists. The "Woo-Hoo!" song gets an early start. Penguins 1-0.

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17:29: Michael Del Zotto takes a pass in the left circle from Rupp and lifts a wrister on net. Fleury reads it all the way and bodies it away.

16:54: Tyler Kennedy whips a backhander from the right circle over the cage.

15:37: A defensive breakdown leads to a tie the game. Former Penguin Ruslan Fedotenko rushes the puck up the right wing, gets a step on Brian Strait and flics a backhander on net. Fleury kicks it out to the slot. Engelland is kind of lost in space and can't account for Dubinsky who whips a wrister by Fleury's blocker. Bad rebound by Fleury. Brutal defense by Strait and Engelland. Fedotenko and Brian Boyl get assists. Penguins 1, Rangers 1.

13:18: During a television stoppage, a few of the team awards are announced. Fleury and Pascal Dupuis were given the "Good Guy" award for dealing with the media. Matt Cooke was nominated for the Masterton Trophy.

13:02: Off a rush into the offensive zone, Kunitz sneaks a pass from the right wing tino the slot. Crosby is streaking in on net with Derek Stepan trailing. He chops the puck on net. Biron reads it all the way and kicks it out.

12:34: Crosby is working with Malkin and Kunitz. Dan Girardi and Crosby battle for a puck in the left wing corner. Girardi slams Crosby into the boards and drops him to the ice. Nice hit.

11:39: Jordan Staal steals a puck off Biron in the right wing corner and deals to Zbynek Michalek at the right point. Michalek pounds a one-timer which hits a stick in front an deflects wide to the far side.

11:33: From the left circle, Kennedy taps a pass to Jordan Staal above the circle. Staal chops a slapper on net. Biron kicks it out right to Kennedy in the left circle. Kennedy cranks a one-timer right between the near post and Biron's right shoulder. What a shot. What a fortunate rebound. Staal and Michalek get assists. The "Woo-Hoo!" song and the WWE "KENNEDY!" clip are played. Penguins 2-1.

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9:09: During another commercial stoppage, more awards are announced. Malkin wins the Penguins Booster Club award which acknowledges the three-stars after games. Brooks Orpik wins the Players' Player award, which the players vote on. Malkin also wins the community service award.

8:00: It didn't take long for Dan Bylsma to switch the top two lines. Crosby is now with Malkin and Kunitz while Eric Tangradi, Park and Pascal Dupuis are on the second line.

7:24: Cooke is called for hooking Marc Staal behind the Rangers' net. Orpik, Michalek, the great Joe Vitale and Craig Adams take the ice.

5:44: The Rangers try to chip and chase a puck into the Penguins' zone. Park gets to it first and whips it down ice for a clear.

5:24: The Cooke minor is killed. The Rangers did not get a shot on net.

3:47: John Mitchell muscles his way by a check off the right wing boards and whips a wrister on net from the right circle. Fleury batltes it away.

3:19: Artem Anisimov races his way up the left wing boards and leaves a drop pass for Del Zotto in the left circle. Del Zotto tees up a slapper which Fleury snags. During another stoppage, more awards are given out. Orpik and Fleury get the defensive player award. Malkin wins the team's MVP.

0:56: Malkin tries to coast through the offensive zone but is stuck to the ice by Marc Staal. The puck slide to the right point. Engelland (6-foot-2, 202) chips it down the boards then dumps big Brian Boyle (6-foot-7, 244 pounds) to the ice.

0:24: Boyle chops a slapper from the right point. Engelland blocks it.

0:00: End of period. Penguins 2, Rangers 1.

FIRST INTERMISSION

-That wasn't a perfect period for the Penguins, but they'll take it. They played their game for the most most minus two of their top wingers and pulled out a lead.

-Crosby and Malkin are kind of good together.

-The third line looked sharp. They created a little havoc in the offensive zone and created a few scoring chances and even cashed in one.

-We're not sure how full bore the Rangers went on their power play, but it was a pretty weak effort.

-It would be a stretch to say either goaltender was tested a great deal.

-The Rangers have a 9-8 edge in shots.

-Kennedy, Kunitz, Del Zotto and Mitchell each lead the game with two shots.

-Girardi leads the game with 9:01 of ice time.

-Michalek leads the Penguins with 8:26.

-Faceoff are even, 7-7 (50 percent).

-The great Joe Vitale is 4 for 5 (80 percent).

-Boyle is 3 for 5 (60 percent).

-No one has more than one blocked shot.

SECOND PERIOD

19:03: HUGE SAVE! Wow! Anisimov sneaks a pass from above the left circle to Richards down low to the left of the crease. Richards one-touches it to Gaborik on the back door. Fleury is on his belly stretched out and finds a way to hold out Gaborik's shot with his left leg. How did he do that?

18:30: Letang and Callahan are sent off. Letang for cross checking. Callhana for roughing. Four on four.

17:16: Boyle fight soff a check from Engelland and sneaks a backhander on net from the right circle. Fleury steers it away.

16:30: Letang and Callahan return to the ice.

14:49: The Penguins go to the net, get dirty and get a goal. Tangardi chases down a puck in the left wing corner and deals to Dupuis in the left circle. Dupuis whips a one-time on net but he sort of misfires it. It flutters in on net. Biron makes the initial save. The rebound falls to the left of the net. Park is there and he's able to squeeze the puck between Biron's right leg and the post. It juuuuuust skids over the goal line before Biron is able to reach back and knock it out as the net is dislodged. Officials rule it a goal but review it. Video confirms the call. It's Park's seventh of the season. Dupuis and Tangradi get assists. Dupuis stretches his league-best scoring streak to 16 games. The "Woo-Hoo!" song is played. Penguins 3-1.

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13:58: On a delayed penalty, Crosby fights off a check from McDonagh in the left circle and whips a backhander on net. Stepan is called for high sticking Kunitz. Malkin, Crosby, Letang, Kunitz and Park take the ice. Park works the point with Letang.

12:35: Del Zotto snaps off a wrister from the righthalf wall . Fleury punches it away

12:21: From the top of the slot, Letang slides a pass to Crosby in the right circle. Crosby booms a one-timer wide of the cage.

11:58: The Stepan minor is killed. Not a lot going on there for the Penguins.

11:41: Jordan Staal challenges McDonagh one-on-one in the left circle and snaps off a wrister which McDonagh appears to get a piece of.

9:09: Kennedy tries to hustle his way up the left wing boards into the offensive zone but Anton Stralman lays a nice hip check into him and slams Kennedy into the boards.

7:58: McDonagh chucks a wrister from the left point wide on the near side.

7:40: Attendance is announced as 18,585. It is the team's 250th consecutive sellout. Dang.

7:09: Strait tees up a slapper from the left point. Biron fights it off with his glove hand. There's a battle for the rebound. Dupuis punches it wide.

6:41: Boyle races behind the net with the puck from the right wing. Brian Strait chases after him with a stick on puck attempt. Strait's stick gets caught up in the netting and ends up spearing Boyle in the left hip. He's hobbled a bit.

6:23: Stralman whips a wrister on net from the left point. Fleury battles it off.

5:44: Asham strikes a one-timer from the left point to the far side. Biron kicks it out.

4:50: Kunitz is called for interference against Boyle.  Staal, Michalek, Orpik and Cooke take the ice. A nice chance here for the Penguins.

4:15: Orpik and Stepan race for a loose puck int the right wing corner. Orpik lays his right shoulder into Stepan's chest and sticks him into the boards.

2:50: The Kunitz minor is killed. The Rangers did not get a shot.

2:43: xx booms a slapper from the right point. Fleury bodies it away.

2:34: The great Joe Vitale has a chanc ein tight but can't beat Biron.

0:48: A wrister by Jordan Staali s blocked by Girardi.

0:00: End of period. Penguins 3, Rangers 1.

SECOND INTERMISSION

-More of the same that period. Hardly a perfect period, but the Penguins played their game for the most part and increased their lead.

-To be fair, the Rangers aren't going full bore here. They have little to gain here.

-Neither power play looks all that hot.

-Fleury was tested a lot more that period and was strong.

-The Penguins have a 25-17 lead in shots.

-Kennedy leads the game with four.

-Del Zotto leads the Rangers with three.

-Girardi leads the game with 16:51 of ice time.

-Letang leads the Penguins with 16:34.

-The Penguins have a 17-14 edge in faceoffs (55 percent).

-The great Joe Vitale is 5 for 8 (63 percent).

-Richards and Mitchell are each 3 for 6 (50 percent).

-Orpik leads the game with two blocked shots.

THIRD PERIOD

19:13: Crosby settles a loose puck in the right circle and snaps it on net. Biron boots it out.

18:10: Richards shuffles a backhander from the left circle on net. Fleury kicks it out.

17:25: Stu Bickel chops a slapper from the right point. Park blocks it.

16:51: Tangradi floats a wrister on net from the left wing. Biron eats it up.

15:30: The Rangers have dominated this period thus far. Anisimov has a chance in the slot but pokes a feed over the cage.

14:34: On a delayed penalty, Staal puts a wrister on net from the left circle. Fleury fights it off.

14:27: Again on the delayed penalty, Marc Staal chops a one-timer from the top of the slot. Fleury eats it up. Kunitz is called for hooking Dubinsky behind the Penguins' net. Orpik, Michalek, Cooke and Jordan Staal take the ice.

13:47: Richard collects a loose puck in the right circle and chops a slapper on net. Fleury kicks it out. Cooke turns and swats the rebound from the slot down ice for a clear.

13:11:  Play is delayed to clean the ice near the Zamboni gate.

12:58: Shorthanded, Jordan Staal races up the right wing and whips a wrister off the mark.

12:29: Letang controls the puck in the left wing corner of his own zone and chucks it down ice to kill off the rest of Kunitz's minor. Another nice effort by the Penguins.

11:32: "Cotton-Eyed" Joe is busted out:

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10:54: From the neutral zone, Crosby tries to hit Kunitz with a stretch pass. It's off the mark. Kunitz hustles after the loose puck behind the cage and deals a backhanded pass to the slot. Malkin streaks behind McDonagh and chops a shot by a less than prepared Biron. Its his 49th goal of the season. Malkin's mom is shown in the stands pointing one finger presumable to signal that he needs one more goal to reach 50. Kunitz and Crosby get assists. It's Kunitz's 200th career assist. The "Woo-Hoo!" song and the "Malkamania" video are played. Fans chant "M-V-P!" onto the ice.  Penguins 4-1.

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8:13: After some hard work in the left wing corner, Hagelin deals a pass to Del Zotto at the left point. Del Zotto wires a slapper to the far side. Fleury stretches out to glove the shot. A fancy save.

7:51: Boyle snaps off a wrister from above the left circle. Fleury kicks it out.

6:14: Mar Staal races up the right wing and snaps off a wrister from the right circle. Fleury squares up and makes the inital save but allows the rebound to trickle juuuust wide to the far side. He's able to slide to his right and cover.

5:52: Letang is sent to the penalty box for cross checking Callahan. Orpik, Michalek, Jordan Staal and Matt Cooke take the ice.

5:34: Staal cuts across the slot and snaps off a wrister wide to the right of the cage.

4:45: Stepan is clipped at the Penguins' blue line by Orpik on a low hit. That appeared knee on knee. Just ugly.

4:39: Play is halted. Orpik is given a kneeing major and a game misconduct. Park will serve the major. That hit looked unintentional as Orpik tried to hit Stepan high. Stepan moved away at the last minute and their knees collided. Either way, it was ugly. Orpik might get a call in the near future from NHL discipline czar Brendan Shanahan. The Rangers will have a four on three for 47 seconds.

4:17: Shorthanded, Cooke snaps off a wrister from the left circle wide on the far side.

3:44: Letang escapes of the penalty box shorthanded. He moves in on net and tries a few too many dekes and loses the puck.

3:34: Marian Gaborik snaps off a wrister to the far side.

2:14: Girardi steps up and hammers a puck from the right point on net. Fleury makes the inital save. Boyle is camped out in front and lifts a backhander over the glove hand of Fleury. A simple, basic ugly goal. Girardi and Dubinsky get assists. Penguins 4-2.

1:47: Biron is pulled for an extra attacker.

1:12: Del Zotto snaps off a wrister from the left circle wide on the near side.

0:55: Del Zotto pumps a slapper on net from the top of the slot. Fleury knocks it dead and covers. The Rangers call a timeout to get organized.

0:48: Off a faceoff win in the right circle of the defensive zone, the Penguins seal the win. Letan emerges with the puck, skates to his blue line and Murphy dumps the puck down ice into the open cage for one of us:

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-Jordan Staal gets his only assist. The "Woo-Hoo!" song is played. Penguins 5-2.

0:00: End of game. The "Woo-Hoo!" song is played. Mike Lange informs us of Elvis' whereabouts. Penguins 5, Rangers 2.

POSTGAME

-First things first, the Penguins clinched fourth place in the Eastern Conference. There is nothing to gain in Saturday's showdown with the Flyers in terms of seeding.

-Rangers coach John Tortorella pretty much went ballistic on the Penguins after the game with regards tothe hit by Brooks Orpik on :

"It’s a cheap, dirty hit. I wonder what would happen if we did it to their two whining stars over there. I wonder what would happen. Just no respect amongst players. None. It’s sickening."

Why do you think hits like that happen?

"Ask they guy who did it. Ask him. It’s one of the most arrogant organizations in the league. They whine about this stuff all the time and look at what happens.  It’s ridiculous. But they’ll whine about something else over there won’t they? Starting with their two (expletive) stars."

Rangers goaltender Martin Biron offered this:

-"I saw it the whole way. To be honest, it crossed my mind to just go all the way down because it was gutless and dirty. That guy is known for sticking his knee out and his elbow out. I don’t really care what he says in defense of what he did. It was dirty. I looked over to the bench and Brian Boyle was ready to jump so I figured he’s was a lot bigger than I am. It’s what he’s done all his career. If he’s going to continue to do that unless somebody gets him either with a suspension or whatever. Hopefully those are hits that are not going to be in the league much longer because that’s very dangerous."

-Penguins coach Dan Bylsma compared the hit to the one Stars forward Eric Nystrom stuck on Kris Letang in that, the target moved at the last minute as the hitter was about to engage physically. It put both players in a bad position and created a bad situation.

-Here's the hit. Decide for yourself:

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-We agree with Bylsma. It's a player moving out of position at the last second. No one's to blame. It's just a bad situation.

-As to the actual game, it was a pretty strong effort by the Penguins with a less than full lineup. They stuck to their game, got aggressive on the forecheck, forced some mistakes by the Rangers and won pretty easily.

-That said, there was no Henrik Lundqvist. This would have been a totally different game with him as well as James Neal and Steve Sullivan.

-Marc-Andre Fleury had a strong game after a few less than stellar outings. It's good to see that heading into the postseason.

-Both team's power plays were flat.

-The third line was veyr strong. Tyler Kennedy, Jordan Staal and Matt Cooke look like they're in mid-playoff form.

-The defense gave up a few quality chances, but they seemed to cut down on the sheer quanity of them. Babysteps.

-The Rangers had a 37-32 lead in shots.

-Sidney Crosby led the game with five shots.

-Michael Del Zotto, Brian Boyle and Ryan Callahan each led the Rangers with four.

-Dan Girardi led the game with 24:36 of ice time.

-Kris Letang led teh Penguins with 23:47.

-The Penguins led in faceoffs, 28-25 (53 percent).

-The great Joe Vitale is 8 for 12 (67 percent).

-John Mitchell was 5 for 9 (56 percent).

-Orpik led the game with three blocked shots.

-Fleury tied Tom Barrasso's franchise record for wins with 226.

-Jordan Staal (246) moved Peter Lee (245)  for 30th place on the franchise's all-time scoring list.

-Letang (170) moved past Troy Loney, Ryan Malone and Rod Schutt (169 each) for 43rd place.

-Game summary.

-Event summary.

-Highlights: