A goalie duel in Game 5 went to the New York Rangers, who defeated and eliminated the Pittsburgh Penguins with a 2-1 overtime win.
Penguins vs. Rangers 2015 final score, NHL playoffs: New York advances with 2-1 win in Game 5
Henrik Lundqvist outdueled Marc-Andre Fleury.
Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports
The Rangers got on the board first in the first period, when center Derek Stepan took a pass from Dan Boyle and snapped it past Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. It was the highlight of a busy first period for New York, who completely dominated the frame.
A goalie duel began to emerge in the second period. Fleury and his Rangers counterpart Henrik Lundqvist exchanged multiple impressive saves to keep the game within reach. It took until 17:23 for the Penguins to break Lundqvist, when Nick Spaling appeared to slip one by him during a scrum in the crease.
The play went to video review, and for a few minutes Penguins fans had to fear they would lose an important goal. But video evidence confirmed Spaling had scored legally off his arm, leading to a game tied at 1-1.
The two sides would play to overtime. where Pittsburgh and Fleury battled valiantly until Carl Hagelin scored the game-winning goal to eliminate the Penguins and send New York to the second round.
3 Things We Learned
1. Marc-Andre Fleury was outstanding when his teammates weren’t.
Early in Game 5, it appeared the Penguins were doing everything they could to get eliminated. The Rangers pelted them with quality chance after quality chance, and the only player keeping the flood waters at bay was Fleury in net. Knowing Fleury (a guy well-known for random collapses in huge games) is the only thing keeping you from elimination is a scary thought. That said, he played spectacularly all game and deserved a win.
2. Maxim Lapierre is a class act.
Unless you don’t think mocking a player you once put on a stretcher is a classy move, of course.
GIF Lapierre: literally the worst pic.twitter.com/W105dVRdVK
— Stephanie Vail (@myregularface) April 25, 2015 3. Yet another quiet game from Sidney Crosby.
The Penguins captain and star featured in another stellar regular season that ended with a nondescript showing in the playoffs. Just one assist in Game 5’s loss left Crosby with four points in five games, with his only two goals coming in Game 2. He was held pointless in two games. Simply put, the Penguins needed more from him.
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