Just 24 hours after both clubs were dismantled by their respective opponents, the Pittsburgh Penguins (23-27-9) and New York Rangers (28-25-4) went head-to-head on Sunday afternoon inside PPG Paints Arena. The Rangers were able to weather a storm for a 5-3 win despite being outshot by the Penguins 39-16.
After coming on in relief against the Washington Capitals, Joel Blomqvist got the start in the second of their back-to-back, making just 11 saves. The Rangers turned back to Igor Shesterkin after allowing five goals on 11 shots against the Buffalo Sabres. He made 36 saves in the win.
Game Recap
In a fast-moving first period, the Penguins found themselves on the front foot. Throwing the puck to the back door, Cody Glass banked the puck off the skate of Evgeni Malkin to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead. With just under a minute left in the first, the Rangers tied things up at one on the power play with Will Cuylle’s 15th goal of the season.
In a middle frame that was heavily dominated by the Penguins, the Rangers needed just three shots in the period to take the lead. J.T. Miller riffled one over the shoulder of Blomqvist with exactly three minutes to go. It was his 12th goal of the season. Though they held a 19-4 shot advantage in the second period and 31-9 through 40 minutes, the Penguins found themselves trailing heading into the final frame.
Down 2-1, the Penguins came out hot as Ryan Shea tallied his first two goals of the season on the game-tying goal just 57 seconds into the period, then the go-ahead goal at 3:31 to make it 3-2 Penguins. The fun stopped at 4:21 when the Rangers tied the game off of Jimmy Vesey’s fourth goal of the season and 100th career goal. A shot from Adam Fox at 11:26 leaked through the arms of Blomqvist and into the back of the net to give the Rangers their second lead of the game. With just seven seconds left, Miller buried home his second of the afternoon in the empty net to put the game to bed with a 5-3 win.
The Rangers and Penguins are back in game action on Tuesday night (Feb. 25). The Rangers will be on Long Island for a meeting with the New York Islanders. The Penguins will head to Philadelphia to take on the Flyers in game three of the Battle of Pennsylvania.
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at The Hockey Writers…