PITTSBURGH – The New York Rangers came into Tuesday night missing their first line center to a conclusion and their starting goalie to the flu, but with a “next man up” mentality, the blueshirts were able to skate away with a 4-3 victory.
Backup netminder Ondrej Pavelec got the last second start when it was determined Henrik Lundqvist would not dress due to illness. Pavelec handled the pressure stopping 41 of 44 shots in his first start since October 28th.
“He was really sharp, which was awesome to see. Never easy being a backup, not knowing when you’re going to start” commented Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh. ”He played really calm, got some whistles for us in key situations”.
The Penguins faced adversity too, missing their top goalie Matt Murray to injury. Tristan Jarry has stepped in the last six games, going an impressive 4-0-2 in that span.
The Rangers fourth line had a strong game, recording two goals and an assist. The biggest of those off the stick of Boo Nieves for his first career NHL goal when he tied the game in the first period at one a piece.
About five minutes after Phil Kessel gave the Penguins a 2-1 lead off a beautiful feed from Jake Guentzel, New York’s fourth line struck again when Jesper Fast notched his fifth of the year off a rebound. The initial shot was stopped by Jarry when Brady Skjei broke in for a breakaway, but was denied by the left pad. Some commotion from a Penguins defenseman caused enough disturbance for Fast to slam home the tying goal.
Mats Zuccarello gave the Rangers the lead when J.T Miller found Zuccarello streaking through the zone for a partial breakaway. After what appeared to be an initial stop, Jarry seemed to push the puck in with his right pad.
Patric Hornqvist scored his 11th of the year on the power-play when Evgeni Malkin took advantage of a major miscommunication by the Rangers defense, and lined a pass from his own zone to the opposite blue line to a wide open Hornqvist. He broke in for a clear breakaway and beat Pavelec 3:35 in the third.
New York got a little bit of luck when Pavel Buchnevich came down on the right side with 11 minutes remaining. On the odd man rush, Buchnevich tried to pass to Chris Krieder breaking on the left. The puck bounced off Kris Letangs skate and fluttered past Jarry for the final goal of the evening.
The Rangers have now won six of their last seven and 10 of their last 12. They face the Capitals next in Washington on Friday night.
The Penguins host the Islanders Thursday night.
Follow Danny Jones on Twitter: @Danny_PJones
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