PITTSBURGH — The Penguins were smothered by the New York Rangers throughout the first 30 minutes of their much anticipated rematch Tuesday at PPG Paints Arena.
But all they needed to turn their night around was a couple of power plays.
That unit stayed scorching hot, with power-play tallies by Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust in the second period propelling the Penguins to a 3-2 victory.
Tuesday’s game was the first of the season versus the rival Rangers, who knocked the Penguins out of the first round of postseason play in May. Coach Mike Sullivan downplayed that dynamic beforehand, saying that this is a new season. But you can be sure his players took note of it when the schedule came out.
Both teams were among the NHL’s hottest in December. The Rangers arrived here on a seven-game winning streak. The Penguins had won 12 of 15.
Neither of the two starting goalies on Tuesday, Tristan Jarry for the Penguins and Igor Shesterkin for the Rangers, had lost a game in regulation all month.
So, naturally, it was one of the most intriguing matchups of the season so far.
The Penguins gave up another goal on the first shift of a game, falling behind 22 seconds in. Shesterkin kicked out his right pad to rob Rickard Rakell on a rebound try, then Chris Kreider scored on a lucky carom down at the other end.
Pittsburgh was fortunate that was the only goal in the first half of the game. Vincent Trocheck and two New York teammates drilled a post, and the Penguins also had to kill off a trio of penalties against the dangerous Rangers power play.
To that point, the Penguins had gotten little going offensively 5-on-5. The Rangers dominated puck possession and when the Penguins did get over the blue line with control, the Rangers pinned them to the perimeter. When the Penguins did get a rare sliver of space, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner Shesterkin was there.
The game turned when Rakell drew a penalty streaking toward the back door.
PPG Paints Arena got a jolt when the Penguins went to the power play. And just a few seconds after the first “Igor! Igor! Igor!” chants of the night started, Malkin fired a shot from the left flank through a screen and over Shesterkin’s glove.
Malkin’s tying goal made it nine straight games with at least one point for the star center. That is the longest point streak for a Penguins player this season.
The Penguins, re-energized, carried the play for the rest of the second. And with 13 seconds left in the period, Rust crashed the net, took a hit and redirected a long Pierre-Olivier Joseph shot past Shesterkin to put them up 2-1 through two.
During their roller coaster seven-game series against the Rangers last spring, the Penguins rattled Shesterkin at times by skating through his sightlines and getting their sticks on point shots. That’s exactly what they did on Rust’s goal.
The Penguins have scored on the power play in nine straight games. The goals by Malkin and Rust made it 13 with a man advantage over this stellar span.
Sidney Crosby pushed the lead to 3-1 midway through the third period. Kris Letang got a crisp breakout started with some fancy stick work behind his net, then Crosby scored on the 2-on-1 rush that ensued. Jake Guentzel set up Crosby.
Kreider scored his second goal of the night 83 seconds later, scoring off the rush to pull the Rangers back within a goal. But Jarry and the Penguins held on.
Jarry has now picked up the Penguins at least one point in 13 straight starts.
ICE CHIPS
— With his goal, Malkin tied Sergei Fedorov for the second-most points all time by a Russian-born player with 1,179. Malkin now trails only Alex Ovechkin.
— Jason Zucker was back in the lineup after missing two games with a lower-body injury. His swift return was a bit of a surprise considering Sullivan labeled him as week to week as recently as Monday. Zucker skated on the second line.
— Josh Archibald sat out the game with a lower-body injury he apparently suffered Sunday in Carolina. Danton Heinen skated on the fourth line in his place.
— Drew O’Connor and Mark Friedman were the healthy scratches Tuesday.
— Jeff Petry, who is on long-term injured reserve with an upper-body injury, got in an individual workout at PPG Paints Arena before the morning skate. The workout did not include work with pucks. The defenseman is out until at least Jan. 8.
COMING UP
The Penguins will practice Wednesday in Cranberry before hosting the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday, their final game before the NHL’s Christmas break.
