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Rangers give up 3-0 lead, lose to Penguins

BY STEVE ZIPAY | steve.zipay@newsday.com

April 26, 2008

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PITTSBURGH - Understatement of the month: If you want to advance in the Stanley Cup playoffs, you have to protect three-goal leads.

The Rangers couldn't Friday night, as the Penguins scored four consecutive goals - in two sudden strikes 14 seconds apart in the second period and 20 seconds apart in the third - to erase that margin. Although Scott Gomez's blast tied the score, Sidney Crosby's one-timer from the right boards on a power play hit Evgeni Malkin's leg and flew past Henrik Lundqvist with 1:41 left for the Game 1 winner.

With the 5-4 victory in an up-and-down game that featured dozens of giveaways, the Penguins took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinals. Game 2 is here Sunday afternoon.

"It's over. There's nothing you can do about it," said Gomez, who was victimized by Marian Hossa's goal, which glanced in off his toe for the third Pittsburgh goal at 4:40 of the third period. "We lost Game 1 and it's too late in the year to dwell on it."

For Jaromir Jagr, who had two assists and hit the post in the final seconds, the way the Rangers lost and gave the Penguins the first game of the series was frustrating.

"When you have the lead, it's not easier, but mentally it gives you the edge," Jagr said. "It means -- to me personally, but it's nice to have a 1-0 lead. If we would have lost 5-0, we would say, 'We couldn't play with them tonight.' Sometimes this one hurts a lot more."

What really burned the Rangers was not only the defensive lapses that allowed the comeback but one penalty call.

Malkin's goal came with Martin Straka in the box at 16:40 of the third period, the only penalty of the period, for interfering with Crosby along the right side. Straka refused to talk about the play, and Rangers coach Tom Renney said: "What did I think of the call on Straka?" He paused for three seconds, and said, "I just answered it. Next question."

The Rangers need to answer numerous questions before Sunday's game.

"It wasn't our best game by any stretch," Renney said. "One of the things we have to do is be a more complete team, manage all three zones with five people and don't allow ourselves to be disconnected by poor decisions with the puck, and attack more."

The Rangers opened the scoring on a deflection on their first power play. From behind the goal line to the left of Marc-Andre Fleury, Straka fired a pass in front, where Brandon Dubinsky and defenseman Sergei Gonchar were entangled, and the puck caromed off Dubinsky and past Fleury with 29 seconds gone in the power play.

Chris Drury made it 2-0 when the shaft of his raised stick deflected down Marc Staal's rising shot and the puck beat Fleury at 1:52 of the second. Sean Avery's shot from the right circle on a two-on-one nicked Fleury's right shoulder and went in the far side of the net for a 3-0 lead.

The Penguins made it 3-1 when Jarkko Ruutu came down the left side on a rush and beat Lundqvist; their second goal came on Crosby's blind backhand feed from behind Lundqvist to wide-open Pascal Dupuis in the slot for a slapper at 8:27. "They got a break on their first goal and we got a break on ours," Penguins coach Michel Therrien said. "It gave life to our team right away."

With the Rangers clinging to a 3-2 lead, Hossa's shot tied it and then Petr Sykora, finishing a beautiful tic-tac-toe play with Malkin and Ryan Malone, gave the Penguins their first lead.

"We just have to forget this," said Lundqvist, who finished with 21 saves. "I don't want to think about it. I just want to move on."

Rangers vs. Penguins

Penguins lead series 1-0

Game 1: Penguins 5, Rangers 4

Sunday: at Pittsburgh, 2 p.m.

TV: Ch. 4