Penguins 4, Rangers 1
PITTSBURGH -- Led by Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, the Pittsburgh Penguins took advantage of an uncharacteristic meltdown by Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist to score three times in less than two minutes late in the second period and beat New York 4-1 on Thursday night.
Patric Hornqvist added his fifth goal in three games as the Penguins bounced back from a tough 3-2 loss Tuesday at the NHL-leading Washington Capitals to rally and beat the Rangers -- the Eastern Conference rival that torments them the most. Counting the playoffs, the Penguins had dropped 11 of their previous 13 to the Rangers.
But that all changed in barely a New York minute as the Penguins improved to 10-2 in their last 12 in Consol Energy Center behind goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who made 27 saves in winning for the 12th time in his last 16 starts. They also moved five points ahead of the Philadelphia Flyers for the conference's second wild-card berth.
After Crosby scored the tying goal, his 26th, and Malkin scored his 25th and had an assist on Hornqvist's goal during the Penguins flurry, Phil Kessel scored his 20th of the season, into an empty net late in the third period.
The Rangers, trying to beat the Penguins for the fifth straight time -- something they have done only twice previously in the 49-year-old rivalry -- seemed to have a perfect game plan in place: Keep throwing shots at Fleury as Lundqvist controlled the other end of the ice.
But Lundqvist lost control of his temper early in the second, drawing a delay-of-game penalty for angrily upending the net -- causing the yellow mooring pins to fly high in the air. Lundqvist became upset when Hornqvist bumped Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh into the goalie, causing him to lose his goalie stick.
Lundqvist -- who gave up only three goals in his previous four starts against the Penguins -- didn't give up control of the game right then, but he soon did.
After Chris Kreider scored his 14th goal of the season to break the scoreless tie at 16:50 of the second and five seconds after a holding penalty on Crosby expired, Lundqvist -- who turned 34 on Wednesday -- suddenly collapsed following his rare bit of pique.
Crosby, who had only six points in his 13 most recent games against the Rangers, alertly tied it at 17:47. Crosby banked a shot off the rear boards and, following it to the net, was there to nudge it across the goal line by an inch or two as the puck ricocheted directly into the crease.
Lundqvist, perhaps still unhappy with the penalty he drew earlier in the period, showed a bit of disgust on his face at allowing Pittsburgh to tie it so quickly.
He became clearly upset when Malkin gave the Penguins the lead only 21 seconds later, putting in a rebound of Chris Kunitz's shot that deflected off Lundqvist and directly to Kunitz.
It got worse for the Rangers when Keith Yandle went off for holding at 18:43. Hornqvist scored the Penguins' third goal in 1:39 -- and his fifth in three games -- by redirecting Kessel's shot on the power play. Lundqvist stopped the first 17 Penguins shots, only to allow three goals on the next five shots, and backup Antti Raanta came on for the third period.
NOTES: Rangers RW Jesper Fast (flu) wasn't expected to play Thursday in Pittsburgh or Friday in Washington but unexpectedly flew to Pittsburgh and was in the lineup against the Penguins. D Marc Staal (flu) was out and D Dylan McIlrath was paired with D Dan Boyle. ... Rangers F Rick Nash (bone bruise in left leg) skated lightly Thursday morning at Consol Energy Center, the first time he has done so since Feb. 2. He has been out since Jan. 22 and coach Alain Vigneault estimates he'll be sidelined an additional 10-14 days. ... With Nash closer to returning and four-time all-star F Eric Staal now in the lineup, Vigneault says he'll have plenty of "options" with his forward lines. Against Pittsburgh, Staal centered a line with LW Viktor Stalberg and RW Kevin Hayes. ... Penguins D Justin Schultz, acquired Saturday from Edmonton, still hasn't played with his new team, missing three games. Coach Mike Sullivan wants Schultz to go through a full practice before playing. G Jeff Zatkoff was also scratched. ... The Penguins moved RW Bryan Rust to the third line and dropped RW Kevin Porter to the fourth line.