The Rangers were stronger.
NHL. Regular season
Rangers 4-2 Pittsburgh (1:0, 1:1, 2:1)
Goals: Zibanejad – 35 (Panarin, Tarasenko), 2:51 – 1:0. Raquel – 24 (Crosby), 34:40 – 1:1. Mott – 4, 36:53 – 2:1. Gunzel – 30 (Crosby, Raquel), 49:09 – 2:2. Kreider – 29 (Fox, Kane), 51:45 – 3:2. Kreider – 30 (p.v., Trochek, Zibanejad), 59:10 – 4:2.
Goalkeepers: Shesterkin – Jerry (58:36 – 59:10, 59:16).
Penalty: 0 — 4.
Throws: 35 (12+9+14) — 32 (7+11+14).
Our: Panarin (18.17/2/0), Tarasenko (16.44/3/0) — Malkin (19.30/0/-1).
March 17. NY. Madison Square Garden. 18006 spectators.
“Pittsburgh” came to visit the “Rangers” and could not be rehabilitated for an unfortunate defeat from “Montreal” (4:6). Team Mike Sullivan began to pursue a series of failures, which continued in New York. This concerns not only results, but also personnel losses. As soon as the Penguins lost Dmitry Kulikov for several weeks, Jeff Petrie also got injured. The American defender could not finish the match against the Rangers and spent only a minute and a half on the ice.
While the standings of the “penguins” can be regarded as quite comfortable, but for the “wild card” from the East, a serious struggle unfolded. Florida is already on the heels of Pittsburgh, having gained a good move, and Washington and Buffalo still do not intend to give up. The guys from Pennsylvania lack stability all season, but in such an important segment of the championship, it will have to be found. Unless, of course, the Pittsburgh players are going to rent golf courses in a month.
The beginning of the game turned out to be extremely unsuccessful for the guests. “Penguins” for quite a long time could not find themselves in the attack, and conceded already in the third minute of the first period. Link Panarin – Zibanejad – Tarasenko continues to demonstrate excellent mutual understanding and it was this combination that organized the first goal in the match. The Swede scored his 35th goal, while Artemy joined Nikita Kucherov and became the second Russian in the current championship to reach the milestone of 75 points.
The hosts were close to reinforcing the advantage, but at the beginning of the second period Rikard Rakkel equalized. His return to the first line paid off, and the striker constantly helped generate dangerous moments. There was enough physical struggle in the match, in this aspect, Rangers forward Tyler Mott was one of the most active in this aspect. The American held four power moves, almost got injured and disabled Petri. Mott didn’t stop there, and two minutes later answered Raquell’s goal, taking advantage of Pierre Joseph’s mistake.
“Pittsburgh” in the second half of the match became noticeably more active, but the hosts still came out with more sharpness. Nevertheless, the “penguins” showed character and equalized the score in the middle of the third period. Sidney Crosby and Rackelle once again scored goals, while Jake Günzel became the first team player to score 30 goals this season. The puck did not flow very well from the pattern of the game. Shortly before this, the Rangers hit the post, but further confusion in their zone went sideways to them.
However, the “Broadway” did not get upset about this for a long time. Chris Kreider turned on the pace and became the protagonist of the end of the meeting. First, the American did a great job on the penny and brought his team forward, and then hit the opponent’s already empty net. Evgeni Malkin selflessly tried to prevent the goal and made a spectacular save, but it was almost impossible to cope with finishing off from Kreider. The second defeat in a row for Pittsburgh and on Sunday the teams will meet each other again on the ice of Madison Square Garden.
