The Rangers have a long way to go before salvaging their first-round playoff series against the Penguins, but on Wednesday night they got one-third of the way there.
They won Game 5 at Madison Square Garden, 5-3, earning a trip back to Pittsburgh for Game 6 on Friday and a chance to keep their magical season going. If there is a Game 7 it will be at the Garden on Sunday.
Things looked bleak for the home team when the Penguins took a 2-0 lead in the second period, seemingly building upon their 7-2 blowout victory over the Rangers on Monday, which gave Pittsburgh a 3-1 lead in the series.
But the Rangers got back into it with three quick goals late in the period, taking a 3-2 lead. The Penguins then tied it 13 seconds after the third New York goal, so the teams were tied at 3-3 entering the second intermission.
The Rangers took the lead for good on Filip Chytil’s power-play goal at 2:53 of the third for his first playoff goal. He picked up a loose pick and whipped it past goalie Louis Domingue for his first career playoff goal. It came with Marcus Pettersson off for high-sticking Andrew Copp, a call hotly disputed by Penguins coach Mike Sullivan.
The Rangers nearly made it 5-3 shortly thereafter on a 4-on-1 rush, but Domingue made a fine glove save on Chris Kreider.
Ryan Lindgren completed the scoring with an empty-net goal in his first game back after missing three with an injury.
The Rangers entered the night knowing that not all was lost, given that 30 NHL teams have come back from 3-1 deficits – and that the Rangers themselves did it in both 2014 and 2015.
The crowd certainly was energized early on, starting with a spirited “I-gor, I-gor” chant when Igor Shesterkin was announced as the starting goaltender.
It was a show of support for the 26-year-old Russian, who after a stellar regular season was pulled in both Games 3 and 4 in Pittsburgh.
After Game 4, coach Gerard Gallant said Shesterkin would start Game 5 and called him the best goalie in the league. He was for most of the season, but in the playoffs he had been getting outplayed by the Penguins’ third-stringer, Domingue.
The game got off to a shocking start for the Rangers, when 24 seconds into the first period Kreider was called for slashing and Jacob Trouba for elbowing.
That gave the Penguins rare full-two-minute 5-on-3 power play. They had some chances, notably when Kris Letang ripped a shot that Shesterkin gloved.
But Pittsburgh could not break through, and Rangers fans cheered their team for surviving the early scare.
The Rangers came out flying, as they did in Game 1, and at one point led in hits, 6-1. But the Penguins continued to battle and sometimes outwork the home team.
The Penguins scored first, at 10:28 of the opening period. Shesterkin stopped a shot by Jake Guentzel, but Guentzel followed the puck behind the net and flung it in front, where it bounced off Shesterkin’s left leg and in.
In the final minute before the first intermission, Chytil slid a shot just wide.
Artemi Panarin had a great chance early in the second, but Domingue made the pad save.
The Penguins scored their second goal of the game on their first shot of the second period, when Adam Fox was caught up ice and Evgeni Malkin found Kris Letang, who ripped the puck past Shesterkin from the left circle at 7:58.
Penguins star Sidney Crosby left the game in the second period after a hit from Trouba and did not return to the game for the third.
The final five minutes of the second period featured a furious flurry of goals.
The Rangers turned up the heat and suddenly got three quick ones – at 15:11, 16:41 and 17:53 – from Fox (on a long wrist shot), Alexis Lafreniere (on a nice feed from behind the goal by Kaapo Kakko) and Trouba (on a backhand through traffic).
The Garden was rocking at that point. But 13 seconds after the Trouba goal, Shesterkin gave away the puck and it led to Malkin setting up Guentzel’s seventh goal of the series.
So the frantic second period ended in a 3-3 tie, and the third period would either end or extend the Rangers season. The home team opted for the latter.
