3-2 Penguins

The Rangers don’t make anything easy.

In the first 30 seconds of the game, the Rangers got called on two penalties giving the Penguins a 5-3 man advantage for two minutes. That is a disaster but the Rangers’ PK did the work and made it a non-issue, keeping the Penguins at bay. That was a good sign. The Rangers did go down 1-0 by the end of the first but a one-goal lead is nothing at this level. Going down 2-0 was the problem. The Rangers pinched along the board on offense and that ended up backfiring as it turned into a breakaway with Letang taking a one-timer from Malkin that whipped by Igor. Bad vibes in the Garden until about 7 minutes later.

Fox snipes the hell out of Louis Domingue to cut the lead in half. Trouba hits Crosby when Crosby is looking down at the ice, ultimately sending him out for the rest of the game. The Rangers crank up the pressure and it pays off less than two minutes later with Lafrenière burying a one-timer from Kappo Kakko to tie it. About a minute later, Trouba makes possibly the most stylish goal of his career with a cut over the right circle to center ice and fires a backhanded shot past an oblivious Domingue. The roof of MSG almost blew off after that goal.

And then the Penguins scored 13 seconds later after a terrible turnover from Igor on the next play. Terrible, awful, no good. A total defensive blunder.

The hero play comes from long scorned Filip Chytil at the start of the 3rd period. After getting his game-winning goal in the first game overturned for goalie interference, his quick reaction shot on a power play surprised Domingue to the tune of a win. The Penguins pushed hard for the rest of the period but without Crosby, they looked rudderless. More penalties piled up on them giving the Rangers an easier time of killing the clock.

With a goalie pull, Lindgren made the security goal with 16 seconds left in the game. 5-3 Rangers, forcing game 6 tonight in Pittsburgh.

Ryan Lindgren rules, plain and simple. Missing the last 3 games made a huge difference in the Rangers’ defense and he came out strong as ever. He was targeted all night taking hits and block shots. He did everything he could in this game and he’s a major factor in why the team won. He makes everyone around him better. Keeping Nemeth off the ice is a benefit.

The so-called Kid Line had another great game. Our all-stars, Panarin, Kreider, and Zibenejad were quiet again. Tonight’s game will be unrelenting and the first line has to show up tonight. They have to lead the charge and get points. The end is on the line again and the chance to win this war in Game 7 at the Garden is the stuff of legends