Penguins 6, Rangers 3: James Neal scored twice and Tyler Kennedy also tallied for the second straight game as visiting Pittsburgh cruised to a fifth consecutive victory over its Atlantic Division rival.
Former Ranger Pascal Dupuis and defensemen Matt Niskanen and Kris Letang also scored while Evgeni Malkin notched three assists in the win. Tomas Vokoun turned aside 31 shots to improve to 7-2-1 in his last 10 starts versus New York.
Rick Nash netted his 15th career short-handed goal for his first tally as a member of the Rangers. Captain Ryan Callahan scored and Taylor Pyatt added his first goal with New York.
After the teams traded power-play goals early in the first period, Kennedy tapped in a loose puck following Joe Vitale's bid along the goal line to give Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead with 4:55 left in the session.
The Penguins doubled the advantage just 3:45 later as Niskanen's shot from just inside the blue line caromed off the skate of Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi and past Henrik Lundqvist. The reigning Vezina Trophy winner was pulled after Malkin's cross-slot pass was redirected home by Dupuis midway through the second period.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Captain Sidney Crosby's assist on Niskanen's goal gave him a point in 14 consecutive games against the Rangers. ... Lundqvist finished with 14 saves before being pulled in favor of Martin Biron. The Swede's last early exit that was not due to injury came on March 31, 2011 in a 6-2 loss to the New York Islanders. ... Hall of Famers Eddie Giacomin and Rod Gilbert were in attendance.
Pittsburgh | NY Rangers | |
Evgeni Malkin 3 | Points | Brad Richards 2 |
James Neal 2 | Goals | Ryan Callahan 1 |
Evgeni Malkin 3 | Assists | Brad Richards 2 |
James Neal 1 | Power Play Goals | Ryan Callahan 1 |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | Rick Nash 1 |
Tomas Vokoun .912 | Save Percentage | Martin Biron .950 |
Tomas Vokoun 31 | Saves | Martin Biron 19 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
Pittsburgh | 39 | 6 | 2-5 | 3-4 | 15 | 27 |
NY Rangers | 34 | 3 | 1-4 | 3-5 | 17 | 36 |