Chris Kreider scores winning goal as Rangers outduel Penguins
Chris Kreider of the Rangers celebrates his first goal of the third period against the Penguins at Madison Square Garden on Thursday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
In those first few games after they pulled off the seemingly unlikely trade to add Patrick Kane to their star-studded roster, the Rangers kept saying, over and over, that it would take time for Kane and the other new players, Vladimir Tarasenko, Tyler Motte and Niko Mikkola, to mesh with the group and develop the necessary chemistry.
On Thursday night, after the Rangers beat the Penguins, 4-2, at Madison Square Garden in the first of two consecutive games there against Pittsburgh — and the second of three games between the teams in a week — the talk in the Blueshirts’ locker room was that the chemistry they were looking to create is starting to form.
“We brought in a lot of skill and just thought we could skill our way against teams,’’ defenseman Adam Fox said. “And we’re finding the right way now, and then that skill can come out. So yeah, obviously you need a little time to click with new guys, and I think we’ve done a good job of that the last few games.’’
After the Penguins tied it at 2-2 midway through the third period, Chris Kreider scored twice, netting the winner at 11:45 and an empty-netter at 19:10. But this one was truly a team victory, one in which the Rangers (39-19-10) were able to roll four lines and get goals from three of them.
Mika Zibanejad and Motte scored the other goals for the Rangers, who are 2-0 on the five-game homestand.
The Penguins and Rangers will square off again on Saturday night.
“That’s a pretty good team we’re playing against, and we’re a pretty good team here as well,’’ Zibanejad said. “It’s always good games against them. Intense, and obviously we know what’s at stake and how important these points are, so that was a huge win for us.’’
With 14 games left in the regular season, the Rangers opened a 10-point lead (88-78) over the Penguins (34-24-10) in the race for third place in the Metropolitan Division. They also did the Islanders a favor by beating the Penguins in regulation, which allowed the Islanders to hold on to a tie with the Penguins for the first wild card in the Eastern Conference.
For the second straight game, the Rangers got off to a flying start, blitzing the Penguins early, outshooting them 12-7 and out-chancing them 13-5, according to the analytics website Natural Stat Trick.
They took a 1-0 lead on a breakaway goal at 2:51 by Zibanejad, who was set up by a clever bank pass off the left- wing boards by Artemi Panarin. The goal was Zibanejad’s 35th of the season and 200th as a Ranger.
But Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry gave them nothing else. He made several saves of the Grade-A variety to keep the Penguins in the game, and Pittsburgh was much better in the second period, eventually tying the score at 14:40 on a goal by Rickard Rakell, who was set up by Sidney Crosby after an awful giveaway by Rangers defenseman K’Andre Miller.
The Rangers reclaimed the lead little more than two minutes later when Motte scored his first regular-season goal for the Rangers at 16:53. Motte had scored two playoff goals for the Rangers last spring but had not scored in the regular season for the Blueshirts.
Jake Guentzel tied it for Pittsburgh at 9:09 of the third period, and the Rangers had more work to do. They broke the tie on Kreider’s 29th goal of the season, as Fox’s shot appeared to deflect off Vincent Trocheck’s stick and fell to Kreider with Jarry out of position. Kreider put it away to give the Rangers the lead and then scored his 30th goal into the empty net to seal the result.
Notes & quotes: Defenseman Ryan Lindgren missed his ninth consecutive game with an upper-body injury. Gerard Gallant said Lindgren skated on his own and remains hopeful that he will play on Saturday or Sunday. Gallant, however, said he had hoped Lindgren would have played earlier.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
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