Pittsburgh 5, NY Rangers 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Friday, January 3, 2014
Where: Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Referees:
Greg Kimmerly, Dan O'Halloran
Linesmen:
Scott Driscoll, Mark Shewchyk
Attendance:
18668
By SportsDirect Inc.
Penguins 5, Rangers 2: Jussi Jokinen and Chris Kunitz each scored twice as Pittsburgh won its 11th straight home game.
Captain Sidney Crosby recorded a goal and two assists for the Penguins, who haven't lost at Consol Energy Center since Nov. 13. Kunitz also set up a tally, Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 33 shots and rookie Brian Gibbons added two assists for his second career multi-point performance.
Mats Zuccarello scored and set up a goal, defenseman Ryan McDonagh also tallied and Henrik Lundqvist made 23 saves for the Rangers, who lost for just the second time in six games. The defeat dropped New York to 2-2-0 on its five-game road trip, which concludes Saturday in Toronto.
Kunitz kicked off the scoring during a power play 13:09 into the game, sliding home an incredible back-skate redirect pass from Crosby at the front edge of the crease. Jokinen doubled the lead at 18:40, gathering a centering pass from Gibbons and snapping in a shot off the far post.
Jokinen's second of the night off another feed from Gibbons made it 3-0 just 69 seconds into the middle period, and Crosby padded the advantage with 1:31 remaining in the session by lifting a backhand shot that beat Lundqvist high to the glove side. Zuccarello ended Fleury's shutout bid at 7:43 of the third and McDonagh got New York within two just over four minutes later, but Kunitz put it out of reach with a well-placed shot from below the right faceoff circle that eluded a diving Lundqvist.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Jokinen halted a 14-game goalless drought. ... The Penguins are one win shy of equaling the longest home streak in franchise history, set last Feb. 22-March 30. ... Pittsburgh, which came into the night with the league's top power play (25.5 percent), went 1-for-2 with the man advantage. ... Rangers RW Derek Dorsett suffered a broken fibula while blocking a shot late in the first period and will miss four-to-six weeks.
Top Game Performances
| NY Rangers |
|
Pittsburgh |
|
Mats Zuccarello 2 |
Points |
Chris Kunitz 3 |
|
Mats Zuccarello 1 |
Goals |
Chris Kunitz 2 |
|
Mats Zuccarello 1 |
Assists |
Sidney Crosby 2 |
|
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
Chris Kunitz 1 |
|
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
|
Henrik Lundqvist .821 |
Save Percentage |
Marc-Andre Fleury .943 |
|
Henrik Lundqvist 23 |
Saves |
Marc-Andre Fleury 33 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
| NY Rangers
|
35 |
2 |
0-3 |
1-2 |
6 |
34 |
| Pittsburgh
|
28 |
5 |
1-2 |
3-3 |
8 |
33 |
Upcoming Games
-
Pittsburgh will play their next game at home against Winnipeg. The Penguins have a W/L % of .733 after a win and .615 after a loss.
-
NY Rangers will play their next game on the road against Toronto. The Rangers have a W/L % of .350 after a win and .591 after a loss.
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