Rangers stifle Penguins' Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin
Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates with the puck in the third period against Carl Hagelin of the New York Rangers during Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals at Madison Square Garden on Thursday, April 16, 2015. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The Penguins' Dynamic Duo at center, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, were held without a point Thursday night.
Crosby played 19:11 and had one shot on goal and two that missed the net. Malkin had two shots and three attempts blocked.
"You want to try and outnumber them as much as you can," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "I wouldn't say there was any specific matchup I was looking for, but I was looking for numbers and pace. I think that's the best way to counter them."
Big mo
Penguins coach Mike Johnston said Derick Brassard's goal at 28 seconds "gave them momentum . . . the crowd, the surge and those [four] penalties . . . took a lot of momentum away from our team. In the second and third, we certainly got better."
Blue shorts
Mats Zuccarello and Dan Girardi had the secondary assists on the two goals . . . The Rangers have won 17 of the last 26 playoff games at home and are 29-11-1 in Game 1s at Madison Square Garden . . . Derek Stepan, who led the Rangers with six shots, liked the play of the fourth line. Tanner Glass, Dom Moore and Jesper Fast totaled nine hits and had a couple of scoring opportunities off the cycle, especially Moore's at the doorstep on a pass from the left boards by Fast . . . Dan Boyle struggled at times on defense. He was charged with two giveaways -- he slammed his stick on the glass after one of them -- and was on the ice for Blake Comeau's goal . . . The Rangers had to kill only one power play, on Rick Nash's boarding call in the second.
