Rangers vs. Penguins 3/20/11

Today's matchup of the New York Rangers vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins was one I was looking forward to. Blueshirts defenseman Marc Staal (previously on my blog) was a scratch for this game with an undisclosed injury. The Rangers were saved often times by All-Star goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. Although the Penguins outplayed them for most of the game, the Rangers still managed to get the win, and the much needed two points. Without Marc Staal, the Rangers number one defenseman and assistant captain, the Rangers still took the game 5-2 over the Stanley Cup Champions from two years ago. The win marks the first time the Rangers won four games in a row in two years, and they did it with another fantastic period. This time, unlike the game against Montreal, it was the third period that won it for the Rangers. After a 5 minute penalty against Penguin Matt Cooke, Chris Kunitz beat two Rangers to the puck and buried a shot that appeared to be deflected past netminder Lundqvist to give the Pens a 2-1 lead, and their 11th shorthanded goal of the season. Not far later, however, Marian Gaborik and Ryan Callahan scored a mere 11 seconds apart to give New York the lead. Although the Rangers scored two power-play goals, they still employed a regular True Blue power-play, which includes hesitating to shoot, turning over the puck in the offensive zone, not being able to keep the puck in the zone, and extremely aggravating me. The Rangers gained a two goal lead with rookie Derek Stepan banging in the rebound of defenseman Ryan McDonagh's shot into an empty net while talented goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury down on the ice. Brandon Dubinsky capped off the win for New York when he put the puck into the empty net off a pass from Ryan Callahan. It was lucky for the Rangers that Lundqvist was able to play with a stiff neck after being steamrolled by Montreal's Benoit Pouliot during Friday night's game, because the Rangers certainly would not have won without him. Due to Lundqvist sensational play, the Rangers moved within 3 points of 6th place Montreal, and 4 points ahead of eight place Buffalo.