Penguins drop Game 5 to Rangers, lose forward Sidney Crosby
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NEW YORK – The Penguins realized ending the New York Rangers’ season wouldn’t be easy.
And sure enough, that was proven true in Game 5 of their first-round series at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.
That’s why there will be a Game 6.
The Rangers staved off elimination with a resolute 5-3 victory.
As for the Penguins, the loss was compounded by an undisclosed injury to forward Sidney Crosby, who did not finish the game. After absorbing a high hit from Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba, Crosby did not record a shift past the 13:10 mark of the second period.
There was no update on Crosby’s status, but coach Mike Sullivan offered a succinct evaluation of what he felt Trouba’s intentions were when he struck Crosby.
“Did you see the hit?” Sullivan asked rhetorically. “You probably have the same opinion I do.”
Seemingly, just about anyone with even a rudimentary understanding of the sport is of the opinion that Crosby was the best player of the series — or even the entire postseason — before Game 5. He entered Wednesday’s contest as the Penguins’ leading scorer with nine points (two goals, seven assists) through the first four games of the series and had an impact on seemingly every corner of the rink.
“It’s the best player in the world. It’s a lot of minutes that different guys have to take up and step up,” Penguins forward Jake Guentzel said. “We’ve just to stick with it. We’ve been through injuries a lot. … For us, it’s just next man up.”
Crosby, who has had a considerable history of concussion woes throughout his career, was the second member of his team to leave this series with a potential head injury. Top-six forward Rickard Rakell has not played since being struck in the head by Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren in Game 1 on May 3.
With the Penguins still in command of the series, 3-2, Game 6 is scheduled for Friday at PPG Paints Arena.
Guentzel opened the scoring with his sixth goal of the postseason 10:28 into regulation.
Cycling the puck out of the Ranger’s right corner, Guentzel lifted a wrister from the right circle that goaltender Igor Shesterkin fought off. After Penguins forward Bryan Rust battled with Rangers defenseman K’Andre Miller to keep the puck free in the slot, Guentzel followed up on the sequence and fired a second wrister which was denied by Shesterkin. Another rebound slid to the end boards and was recovered by Guentzel, who flicked a backhander to the crease. Shesterkin was not in sound position and allowed the puck to bank off his left leg and into the net for Guentzel’s sixth goal of the postseason. Rust and defenseman Mike Matheson had assists.
Defenseman Kris Letang’s first goal supplied the Penguins with a 2-0 lead at 7:58 of the middle frame.
After Penguins forward Jason Zucker gained the offensive zone on the right wing then battled Rangers defenseman Braden Schneider to maintain possession, forward Evgeni Malkin did a drive-by to claim the puck and generated a two-on-one rush with Letang. With Rangers forward Kaapo Kakko providing minimal resistance, Malkin dished a forehand pass to the right circle, where Letang swiped a one-timer past Shesterkin’s blocker on the near side. Malkin and Zucker netted assists.
A four-goal outburst within the final five minutes changed the course of the game.
The Rangers’ first offense came from defenseman Adam Fox at 15:11 of the middle frame. Taking a pass at the right point of the offensive zone, Fox waited for a shooting late to open then wired a wrister through a phalanx of bodies and over goaltender Louis Domingue’s glove on the far side for his third goal. Assists went to forwards Andrew Copp and Ryan Strome.
Things were tied 2-2 at the 16:41 mark of the second thanks to Rangers forward Alex Lafreniere’s second goal. Settling a puck low in the Penguins’ right corner, Trouba rimmed it to Kakko behind the cage. Emerging to the left of the net, Kakko slipped a clever pass past Penguins defenseman John Marino’s stick to the front of the crease, where Lafreniere buried a forehand shot past a helpless Domingue’s blocker. Kakko and Trouba tallied assists.
The Rangers took their first lead of the contest at 17:53 of the second. Corralling a puck at the right point of the offensive zone, Trouba surged past flat-footed Penguins forward Jeff Carter and veered his way to the slot, firing a backhander through Domingue’s five hole for his first goal. Forward Artemi Panarin and Miller had assists.
All of that momentum and energy the Rangers had captured temporarily evaporated only 13 seconds later when Guentzel found his second goal of the contest. After Shesterkin misplayed a puck from his own crease, Malkin swooped in off the right wing to claim possession behind the cage and zipped a backhand pass to the slot for Guentzel who fired a forehand shot through Shesterkin’s five hole. The only assist went to Malkin.
“I’d probably say just a couple of defensive breakdowns that they made us pay for,” Penguins forward Teddy Blueger said of the final stages of the second period. “Obviously, the momentum swings quick and things change. After we gave up the first (goal), we’ve got to do a better job of putting that behind us and continue to play and not let the momentum shifts affect us as much. Obviously, (Guentzel) scored a big goal for us and got us back into it. We were still in a pretty good spot going into the third.”
The Rangers’ spot appeared to be better as they reclaimed a lead, 4-3, 2:53 into the final period with a power-play goal. After Rangers forward Frank Vatrano gained the offensive zone on the right wing and lost the puck, Rangers forward Filip Chytil claimed possession and toasted Domingue’s blocker on the near side for his first goal. Vatrano and Lafreniere logged assists.
An empty net goal by Lindgren, his first of the postseason, at 19:44 of the third capped the scoring. There were no assists.
Domingue recorded the loss after making 29 saves on 33 shots.
The series returns to Pittsburgh on Friday with the Penguins still in control. But they know the task won’t be any easier than it was on Wednesday.
“We’re going back home,” Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson said. “We had two good games at home. We knew that the hardest part of the series is closing out. Stay positive, keep our heads up and know that we’re going back to our building and that it’s going to be fun playing there.”
Whether that fun will involve Crosby, no one knows just yet.
“Obviously, Sid’s a real important player for us,” Blueger said. “Throughout the course of the year, we played without him and have done pretty well. We battled through injuries. So I don’t think it’s anything we can’t overcome.”
Notes:
• Guentzel leads the playoffs with seven goals in five games. He had three goals in his past three postseasons (14 games) combined.
• The only members of the franchise to score more goals in a playoff series are:
Mario Lemieux – Nine (1989 Patrick Division final vs. Philadelphia Flyers)
Mario Lemieux – Eight (1996 Eastern Conference semifinal vs. New York Rangers)
Sidney Crosby – Eight (2009 Eastern Conference semifinal vs. Washington Capitals)
• After Crosby left the game, Malkin was promoted to the Penguins’ top line between Guentzel and Rust. At one point in the third period, Malkin and Guentzel had a pretty rough collision in the Rangers’ zone that led to a quality scoring chance for the Rangers:
Guentzel appeared to take the worst of the collision and went to the bench in some discomfort. Despite that mishap, he completed the game.
• Even with Crosby missing much of the game, the Penguins were dominant in the faceoff circle, winning 39 of 58 draws (67%). Carter was especially proficient, going 13 for 17 (76 %).