The Penguins knew they needed a better defensive effort than what they displayed on national television Sunday against the Buffalo Sabres.
Against the best team in the Eastern Conference, they did just that.
Evgeni Malkin notched his 33rd goal of the season, Steve Sullivan scored on the power play, and Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 27 shots to defeat the New York Rangers 2-0, Tuesday night. For the Penguins, it was their first win against the Rangers at Consol’s less than two year existence.
After giving up three goals in relief of Brent Johnson on Sunday, Fleury bounced back to post his third shutout of the season and 22nd of his career, tying Tom Barrasso for the franchise record.
He got plenty of help as the defensemen -even without Brooks Orpik- played one of their best games as a collective unit. Paul Martin played over 21 minutes and had a great bounce-back game after being a minus 4 on Sunday.
The Penguins dominated large portions of the first period. Late in the period, the Penguins controlled the puck for close to three straight minutes before the Rangers iced the puck. John Tortorella had to use his timeout early in the game, just as he did in the Rangers’ last matchup at Consol.
This time, the Rangers failed to take control.
After a scoreless first period, Evgeni Malkin scored 1:05 into the second on a breakaway. As the play was broken up in the defensive zone, Kris Letang flipped the puck off the boards and up to Malkin who was at the opposite blue line by the time he touched the puck. Malkin skated down the left side, made a few moves while skating in front of Henrik Lundqvist before backhanding the puck into the net.
The Penguins capitalized on the power play 10 minutes later when Steve Sullivan’s slapshot at the point deflected off a Ranger and behind Lundqvist. It was Sullivan’s 11th goal of the season and Malkin’s league-leading 73rd point.
The Rangers had opportunities to get back into the game, but the Penguins’ strong defensive play and stellar goaltending shut down New York’s chances.
Marc-Andre Fleury robbed Artem Anisimov’s backhand shot late in the second period and also got a little help from the post on a Ryan McDonagh wrist shot. Fleury’s perfect game moved him into a tie with Tom Barrasso on the franchise shutout list on the same night Evgeni Malkin picked up his 300th career assist.
For Pittsburgh, it was the perfect time to get major contributions from their best players.
Coming into the game 10 points back from New York for the top spot in the Eastern Conference, Pittsburgh knew they had to win in order to stay in the race. With seven games remaining against the Flyers, Devils, and Rangers -including three games in a row against each team in mid-March- the Penguins still have time to climb the Atlantic Division.
The Penguins will look to avoid a letdown against the Tampa Bay Lightning in their next game on Saturday.
Photo courtesy of Yahoo!
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