PITTSBURGH – After giving up two first period goals, the New York Rangers rallied to score three goals in the second period and five straight to defeat the Penguins in Pittsburgh. Rangers backup Antti Raanta got the start in net, stopping 27 of 29 shots to improve his record to 5-0-0. Marc-Andre Fluery got the nod for the Penguins tonight stopping 30 of 35 shots he faced. New York scored their fifth on an empty net from Derek Stepan.
The early story was Penguins rookie Jake Guentzel who started in his first NHL game. He scored a minute into the first on his first shot on his first shift. With his mother, father and brother in the stands, they were able to witness not just his first career goal, but also his second as he would tally again with 6:48 left in the first.
His first goal was the fastest in a Penguins debut.
WATCH: All Rangers vs. Penguins highlights
The Rangers would not be deterred though, as they came roaring back in the second period. After getting outshot 14-12 in the first period, the Blueshirts outshot the Pens 15-9 in the middle 20 and capitalized three times in that span for goals.
Forward Rick Nash scored off a great effort from behind the goal line when he tried to force a pass to Stepan. The pass was blocked by a sliding Penguins defender and Nash got his puck back to fire home the close shot.
Their second goal was from forward Michael Grabner who now leads the entire league in even-strength goals and is tied for the league lead with 12, along with Sidney Crosby and Patrik Laine of the Winnipeg Jets.
With the momentum and a tied game, the Rangers would go down a man after denfesemen Brady Skjei was at fault for interference. The result was the first career short-handed goal for forward J.T Miller. The Rangers took a 3-2 lead going into the third period.
“We know a lot about this team. We’ve played them so much over the last handful of years,” Miller said . “I think we were just on our heels a little too much at the start. A little too passive. I thought we were a lot more aggressive after that. When we did that we forced them into more turnovers and got a couple more lucky bounces.”
The Rangers came into Pittsburgh having lost their last two games including the night before to the Florida Panthers in a shootout. With normal starter Henrik Lundqvist on the bench, Raanta played lights out after giving up the first two goals.
“There was still a lot of game left,” Raanta said. “I have been a goalie long enough to know one goal here or there is not going to change your life. It’s not going to change how you play hockey. I just tried to concentrate on the next shot, get the next save.”
Both teams will face off once again on Wednesday at MSG in NYC at 7pm.
Follow Danny on Twitter: @Danny_PJones
You must be logged in to post a comment.