Rangers rally, stave off elimination with Game 5 win over Penguins
Jacob Trouba of the Rangers celebrates his second-period goal against the Penguins during Game 5 of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The Rangers have a long way to go before salvaging their first-round playoff series against the Penguins, but on Wednesday night they got one-third of the way there.
They won Game 5 at Madison Square Garden, 5-3, earning a trip back to Pittsburgh for Game 6 on Friday and a chance to keep their magical season going. If there is a Game 7 it will be at the Garden on Sunday.
And they did it in a way that befit a team that has made resiliency its calling card all season, recovering from a 2-0 second-period deficit.
“They were competitive as hell tonight, and that's what we wanted from them,” said coach Gerard Gallant, who after Game 4 called his team “soft” more than once. “Down 2-0, but we still played hard the whole time, and we battled back.”
Things looked bleak for the home team when the Penguins took a 2-0 lead in the second period, seemingly building upon their 7-2 blowout victory over the Rangers on Monday, which gave Pittsburgh a 3-1 lead in the series.
But the Rangers got back into it with three quick goals late in the period, taking a 3-2 lead. The Penguins then tied it 13 seconds after the third New York goal.
The Rangers took the lead for good on Filip Chytil’s power-play goal at 2:53 of the third. He picked up a loose pick and whipped it past goalie Louis Domingue (29 saves) for his first career playoff goal. It came with Marcus Pettersson off for high-sticking Andrew Copp, a call hotly disputed by Penguins coach Mike Sullivan.
“I didn’t even know how it got to me,” said Chytil, who lamented that too often this season he has overthought scoring chances. This time, he said, “I just close eyes and just shoot and scored a goal finally.”
Ryan Lindgren completed the scoring with an empty-net goal with 15.5 seconds left in his first game back after missing three with an injury.
The Rangers entered the night knowing that not all was lost, given that 30 NHL teams have come back from 3-1 deficits – and that the Rangers themselves did it in both 2014 and 2015.
The crowd certainly was energized early on, starting with a spirited “I-gor, I-gor” chant when Igor Shesterkin was announced as the starting goaltender.
It was a show of support for the 26-year-old Russian, who after a stellar regular season was pulled in both Games 3 and 4 in Pittsburgh.
The game got off to a shocking start for the Rangers, when 24 seconds into the first period Kreider was called for slashing and Jacob Trouba for elbowing.
That gave the Penguins rare full-two-minute 5-on-3 power play. They had some chances, notably when Kris Letang ripped a shot that Shesterkin gloved.
But Pittsburgh could not break through. “That was a big part of the game, obviously,” Gallant said. “You hate to get behind the eight ball like that when you're in a game that we have to win.”
The Penguins scored first, at 10:28 of the opening period. Shesterkin (29 saves) stopped a shot by Jake Guentzel, but Guentzel followed the puck behind the net and flung it in front, where it bounced off Shesterkin’s left leg and in.
The Penguins scored their second goal on their first shot of the second period, when Adam Fox was caught up ice and Evgeni Malkin found Letang, who ripped the puck past Shesterkin from the left circle at 7:58.
Penguins star Sidney Crosby left the game in the second period after a hit from Trouba and did not return for the third. His status moving forward is unclear.
“He’s a great player for them,” Gallant said. “Hopefully he’s OK.”
The final five minutes of the second period featured a furious flurry of goals.
The Rangers turned up the heat and suddenly got three quick ones – at 15:11, 16:41 and 17:53 – from Fox (on a long wrist shot), Alexis Lafreniere (on a nice feed from behind the goal by Kaapo Kakko) and Trouba (on a backhand through traffic).
The Garden was rocking. But 13 seconds after the Trouba goal, Shesterkin gave away the puck and it led to Malkin setting up Guentzel’s seventh goal of the series.
So the frantic second period ended in a 3-3 tie, and the third period would either end or extend the Rangers season. The home team opted for the latter.
Neil Best first worked at Newsday in 1982, returned in 1985 after a detour to Alaska and has been here since, specializing in high schools, college basketball, the NFL and most recently sports media and business.
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