PITTSBURGH — The NHL schedule makers got this one right, for sure. Saving all these Rangers-Penguins for the stretch run of the season is producing some really fun, high-stakes, late-season hockey games.
The teams are locked into a battle for second place in the Metropolitan Division, with home ice advantage in the likely first-round playoff matchup between the teams the prize for the winner, and the Rangers’ 3-2 victory at PPG Paints Arena Tuesday allowed the Blueshirts to leapfrog the Penguins and take a one-point lead in the race for second.
Chris Kreider’s 45th goal, a power-play tally scored on the rebound of a shot off the backboards by Adam Fox, had given the Rangers a 3-1 lead at 1:06 of the third period, but Sidney Crosby scored a power-play goal of his own at 10:37 of the period to pull Pittsburgh within 3-2.
With the win, the Rangers improved to 43-19-5 and have 91 points in the standings. The Penguins (40-18-10) have 90, and have played one more game.
The first period looked a little sluggish as both teams seemed to be feeling each other out a bit. The Rangers had a little more control of the puck and had more shots on goal (9-5), but Pittsburgh took the lead on a goal by former Ranger Brian Boyle, who made a pretty deflection of a shot by Brian Dumoulin and got it past Igor Shesterkin at 14:24.
The Rangers scored twice in the second period to take the lead. Red-hot Frank Vatrano tied it at 13:32, sweeping in a shot through a screen by Dumoulin and by Tristan Jarry for his 15th goal of the season — and fifth in seven games with the Rangers since his March 16 trade. The goal, assisted by Mika Zibanejad and Kreider, was also his fourth in the three games he’s played on the top line.
Then, rookie Braden Schneider jumped up to join what was a three-on-three rush and make it a four-on-three. Artemi Panarin dropped it back to Schneider and he blew a one-timer past Jarry at 17:04 for his second goal of the season.
Andrew Copp got the second assist on the Schneider goal, his sixth point in four games with the Rangers since coming over at the trade deadline from Winnipeg. Copp, playing center on the second line in place of Ryan Strome, who missed the game with a lower-body injury, started the play when he picked up a loose puck in the Rangers’ zone, skated it up the middle into the Penguins’ zone, dished it to Panarin and drove to the net. Panarin then found the trailing Schneider.
Finding out whether he likes Copp as a centerman is one of the things Rangers coach Gerard Gallant is going to have to try and find out over the final month of the season. Copp can play all three forward positions, but has said he fancies himself a center who can play the wing, rather than a wing who can play center. And he did bring a 54% record on faceoffs into Tuesday’s game.
But Gallant wants to see for himself if Copp is better at center or wing for this Rangers group. He tried Copp at center in Sunday’s game, after Strome was injured, but didn’t like it. So he tried it again Tuesday.
