It looked good for a minute there. Well, less than that.
In a span of 24 seconds late in the third period, the Rangers absolutely collapsed, blowing a 3-1 lead and stumbling into overtime. And then somehow, against all logic, they got a seeing-eye slap shot from Kevin Klein, beating Penguins' goalie Marc-Andre Fleury 3:45 into overtime to take a 4-3 win.
It stopped a two-game losing streak, and was very close to being the second consecutive brutal loss, a 3-2 defeat to the Red Wings on Saturday in Detroit still stinging after the Rangers held a 2-0 lead in that one. In this one, with under five minutes remaining in regulation, the Penguins got goals from Evgeni Malkin and Steve Downie in the blink of an eye, tying it 3-3 and sucking the life out of the already tepid Garden crowd.
In theory, this was a rematch of last season's second-round playoff series, the one the Rangers won in seven games. But the two teams have changed enough that it seems a distant memory.
"Both teams are different; it's a new season," coach Alain Vigneault said before the game. "It is an opportunity tonight to play against a team we knows is good, and we know we need to be real good."
The Rangers (12-10-4) had extended their lead to 3-1 with just over seven minutes remaining in the third period, when Kevin Hayes made a great individual play, intercepting a pass in the defensive zone and then banging in a breakaway. It was then on the struggling Henrik Lundqvist to make it hold up, and in his first action since last Monday's 6-3 loss to the Lightning, Lundqvist just couldn't make the big saves when they were needed most.
Not that it was all his fault. The Penguins (18-6-3) were not going quietly, still reeling from the 5-0 drubbing they took at the Garden on Nov. 11. They pushed the Rangers defensemen into making panicked plays, with Ryan McDonagh fumbling on Malkin's goal and Marc Staal unable to clear the puck on Downie's.
"They're a very good hockey team, but it's a new night," said defenseman John Moore, who returned after being scratched for loss in Detroit. "Every game is different and we have to be ready for them, because they'll be ready for us."
The second period started on a sour note for the Rangers, as they blew the final 1:19 of a power play that had carried over from the first, already down 1-0 on a top-corner laser from Nick Spaling 12:35 into the first.
Yet soon after the failed man-advantage, it was Dom Moore forcing a neutral-zone turnover, springing Marty St. Louis up the right wing. He found J.T. Miller, his new linemate, streaking to the net, and St. Louis put it on his tape, Miller netting his second of the season to tie it, 1-1. That woke up the slumbering crowd somewhat, and woke up the team.
By the 8:40 mark, it was Rick Nash streaking down the ice on a breakaway after the puck bounded passed Pittsburgh defenseman Brian Dumoulin. Nash faked, put a backhand into the left pad of Fleury, and then still had the wherewithal to flip a forehand up and over and into the net for his team-leading 18th of the season and a 2-1 lead they would take into the third.
"In this league, you have to find ways [to win]," St. Louis said. "Are you going to play perfect games? Sometimes you play a good game and you don't win. This league is about finding ways, so for us, we have to find ways consistently."
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