NEW YORK, NY— The New York Rangers defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 in a shootout on Saturday afternoon.
The Rangers were looking for a fast start after falling to the Flyers on Thursday, but that wasn’t the case. Just 1:28 into the first period, Braden Schneider was called for a holding penalty.
The Penguins sent out their power play unit without captain Sidney Crosby, who was injured while playing for Team Canada in the Olympics. It didn’t matter, as Anthony Mantha quickly beat Igor Shesterkin to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead.
Things continued to go downhill for the Rangers when Vincent Trocheck received a 10-minute misconduct for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Pittsburgh later found the back of the net on what appeared to be its second power play goal of the game, this time off the stick of Bryan Rust. However, the Rangers caught a break. Anthony Mantha was ruled to be in the crease as the puck crossed the line, and the goal was waved off for goaltender interference.
The Rangers went on the powerplay with just under four minutes remaining in the period but were unable to convert, trailing 1-0 heading into the second.
Pittsburgh carried 30 seconds of power play time into the second period after Vladislav Gavrikov was called for holding late in the first.
The second period began much like the first, with the Penguins striking early once again. Defenseman Ryan Shea scored his fourth goal of the season to extend the lead to 2-0.
With 10:51 remaining in the period, the Rangers earned their second power play of the game after Rickard Rakell was called for hooking.
New York scored their first goal of the game as Mika Zibanejad was set up in the slot by Trocheck to cut the Penguins’ lead in half.
Although Pittsburgh controlled much of the play, the game remained closer than it felt, as the Rangers only needed one goal in the 3rd to tie the game.
They got it.
Taylor Raddysh finished a beautiful play set up by Vladislav Gavrikov with just about 16 minutes remaining. The crowd was finally on its feet, and urgency returned to a team that had struggled to generate offensive pressure for much of the night.
Despite several strong chances in the third period, the Rangers couldn’t beat Pittsburgh goaltender Stuart Skinner again, and the game would require more than 60 minutes to find a winner.
Evgeni Malkin had a few chances to win it in overtime, but Shesterkin stood tall, sending the game to a shootout.
After Anthony Mantha missed on the first attempt, Trocheck scored the lone goal of the shootout, securing a New York Rangers victory.
The Rangers will look to keep momentum as they battle the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday night at Madison Square Garden.
