A strong performance by captain Sidney Crosby spurred the Pittsburgh Penguins to a 4-3 win in Game 2, tying their first-round series with the New York Rangers at 1-1.
Penguins vs. Rangers Game 2 final score: Crosby leads in Pens’ 4-3 victory
The Penguins captain showed up in Game 2.
Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports
Much like they did in Game 1, the Rangers started the scoring early. Their skating legs kicked in quickly, and their wing-to-wing passing game paid off three minutes in when J.T. Miller fed Derek Stepan for the game's first goal. But that was as much as New York could muster offensively in the first, including two failed power play chances.
Pittsburgh made them pay for it in the second period. They killed off an early penalty, gained a power play of their own and cashed in on a Brandon Sutter goal five feet in front of goalie Henrik Lundqvist. From there, the Penguins began dominating the pace of play. Sidney Crosby cleaned up a Patric Hornqvist rebound off the rush to give the Penguins the lead, and then scored again four minutes later on a pretty diving tip-in play near the crease.
New York got one back in the third period, though, when Derick Brassard scored to make it a one-goal game. It was the Rangers' first power play goal in six tries at that point. The penalties started going the Penguins' way after that, and Pittsburgh regained a two-goal lead when Chris Kunitz scored his first playoff goal in ages. Rick Nash scored with 5.1 seconds left, but the Penguins skated away with a 4-3 victory.
The series now shifts to Pittsburgh, tied at 1-1.
3 Things We Learned
1. New York’s special teams failed them.
When you give the Rangers seven power plays at home in the playoffs, you expect them to burn you. Instead, the Blueshirts went 1-for-7. New York could have buried the Penguins with those chances. Meanwhile, their penalty kill also faltered, letting Pittsburgh score twice on the man advantage. If you’re not going to capitalize on your power plays then you’d better kill off your opponent’s opportunities. New York didn’t, and it cost them.
2. Sidney Crosby showed up.
It was fitting that the guy many use as a comparison for Connor McDavid put on a great performance on the same night McDavid’s fate in Edmonton was sealed. Crosby’s two second-period goals gave Pittsburgh the lead and the momentum at a critical juncture. With just three goals in his last 20 playoff games entering this series, Crosby has a lot to prove this postseason. This was a good first step.
3. Derek Stepan can unleash one heck of a shot.
The Rangers center opened the scoring in the first period with a snapshot that positively hummed its way past Marc-Andre Fleury.
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