In Pittsburgh, the visiting New York Rangers had an answer for every call form the Penguins in a Saturday afternoon tilt.
Every tome the Penguins scored or threatened the Rangers in the game, New York responded with a goal in a 7-4 win.
“I just liked the responses in the first period,” New York coach Peter Laviolette said. “We gave up an early goal, scored two. Gave one up. So, I just liked the response of coming back. Pittsburgh played hard tonight. They were tough all night. They didn’t stop working.
“I think our guys just kept battling as well. A couple things we can clean up, but it was a pretty good win against a team, as I mentioned before, their urgency was high.”
Artemi Panarin hit for a double and five points in the win.
“I don’t think about it, or I don’t try,” Panarin said on whether this is his best NHL season. “Maybe I’ll think about it after the season, about those things. Never in the season.”
Jonathan Quick made 34 saves in the win.
“This is stuff we’ve been doing all year, right?” Quick said. “This is nothing new that we did today that we haven’t been doing. These guys, they battle hard.”
The Rangers improved to 44-19-4 off their fourth win in five games, and one game after losing 6-3 to the Lightning in Tampa on Thursday.
The opening stanza was heavy weight tilt with the teams exchanges punches, leading the Rangers taking a 3-2 lead after 20 minutes.
John Ludvig opened the scoring at 2:36 for a 1-0 lead to the Pens, scoring on a shot through a maze of legs and sticks.
The Rangers’ Kaapo Kakko converted on a nifty pass from Adam Fox for a 1-1 tie at 3:07.
Fox then put on a move i the right circle to the slot that had the Pens twisting in the win when he backhanded a shot for a 2-1 lead at 3:33.
The Pens replied to that strike with a marker from Bryan Rust at 12:27, scoring from below the left circle, for a 2-2 tie..
Panarin hit for his first of the game at 15:32, collecting a brilliant pass from Vincent Trocheck for a 3-2 lead headed to the middle frame..
The Penguins dropped to 29-28-9 off their fifth loss in six matches.
“We’ve just got to work every night,” said Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby, who had an assist but extended his goal drought to 11 games. “I think we just have to approach every game for what it is. Today, I thought we worked hard, generated some good chances. Unfortunately, gave up a few too many.”
In the middle frame, the Pens stormed back to tie the game, 3-3, on a strike by Lars Eller midway through the second, scoring off the power play from the right circle.
Panarin collected his double when he rushed the net to collect a rebound and pot it home for a 4-3 lead to the Rangers. He scored off a two-skater power play.
Mika Zibanejad then hit off a power play for a 5-3 lead when he took a pass cross slot pass from Chris Kreider for a 5-3 lead to the Rangers headed to the third period.
“I think it’s a little bit of everything,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “Tonight, for me, the game flipped in that two-goal swing on their power play. I thought a lot of the game, we were pretty good 5-on-5.”
K’Andre Miller put a dagger in the Pens’ sails when he scored off a shot from the left point that snaked its way through traffic for a 6-3 lead to the Rangers at 4:41.
The Pens had one last last push with Valtteri Puustinen trimming the deficit to 6-4 at 7:23 of the third, scoring off an odd man rush.
Kreider hit an empty net with 18 seconds left on the game clock for the 7-4 final count on the scoreboard.
“Usually, when you’re fighting for points like this down the stretch, whether you win or lose, you have to turn the page quick and get going,” Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang said.
Tristan Jarry got the start, yielding six goals, making 17 saves, before getting the hook in the third period.
Nedeljkovic made four saves in a mop up roll .
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