Rangers-Penguins: New York Relentless in 3-2 OT Win over Pittsburgh

Despite losing key players in Michael Del Zotto and Marian Gaborik after the first period, the New York Rangers put up one of their better efforts in recent memory tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Mellon Arena.

The Rangers always seem to play a spirited match against the Pens, but sometimes, that is not the case when they are on the road. Tonight was an exception, as the team was relentless in this performance and did all they could to earn the overtime win.

This, my friends, is what Head Coach John Tortorella is referring to when he says he needs his team to show more desperation. We saw a boatload of it tonight.

The first period is the only one that you could say the Rangers were lacking. It did not help that forward Gaborik (thigh) was playing at about 50 percent and Del Zotto fell on Evgeni Malkin’s skate, which ended up slicing the rib area open, leaving him lying on the ice in his own blood.

Neither player would return, so that meant Ryan Callahan would have to jump up and do first-line duty while the defense had to run on a five-man rotation. Sidney Crosby was the only goal scorer in that period, as his slapper flew through the legs of Henrik Lundqvist and gave the Pens the advantage after one.

About 1:30 into the second stanza, Captain Chris Drury’s behind-the-back feed found Brandon Dubinsky in the slot, whose one-timer just barely squeaked through the legs of goaltender Brent Johnson. Vinny Prospal would follow that up with his 13th of the season when Artem Anisimov laid a beautiful pass for the flying winger, who roofed a shot top-shelf. At that point, the Rangers had a 2-1 lead.

Toward the end of this period, things got a little testy as we saw Drury drop the gloves with Matt Cooke to defend himself after what he felt was a cheap shot along the boards. Michal Rozsival even got himself involved by ripping Cooke off of Drury, but he received a 10-minute misconduct for the act.

Then, after the buzzer sounded, Dubinsky and Crosby exchanged stick stabs, prompting Dubinsky to say this on MSG Network when asked about the confrontation: “He’s such a little baby sometimes.”

You know the fans’ eyes lit up when he made that comment.

Of course, the Rangers could not hold onto the one-goal lead in the third period. Dan Girardi was unable to clear the zone past defenseman Sergei Gonchar, who let a laser fly from the point. Crosby connected on a perfect deflection for his 41st goal of the season, and things were tied at two.

It only took 1:03 into overtime for Olli Jokinen to score his most important goal as a New York Ranger, rifling a wrister over the shoulder of Marc-Andre Fleury, who replaced an injured Johnson in the second, ending the game with the Rangers defeating the Penguins, 3-2.

Before I go any further, I would just like to point out the play about Rozsival tonight. Sticking up for the captain was one thing, but stepping up when his team needed him was another.

Yes, I understand that he has been a liability on defense this season, but he played a magnificent game tonight, and I believe that should be recognized. Tortorella felt the same way.

Jokinen picked up a goal and an assist on the night, and he played very well with Dubinsky on the second offensive unit. Jokinen seems as if he is beginning to feel comfortable here in New York and is starting to look like a standout player on the ice for the Blueshirts. From what I have seen/heard so far, Jokinen is doing his best to become a leader on this hockey club, and nothing proves that more than burying a game-winning tally in overtime.

Once again, Lundqvist had a spectacular game, making 25 saves on 27 shots faced. Team Sweden will be receiving a red-hot netminder in Lundqvist next week in the Olympics—and if he can play this way up in Vancouver, there is no doubt in my mind that Sweden can defend its gold medal. He has been playing his best hockey of the season as of late, as he most often does in the second half each year.

Also give credit to Drury, because while he may have gotten pummeled to the ice, the fact that he stuck up for himself and showed grit in front of his whole team speaks volumes. The locker room was ecstatic when talking about Drury’s actions after the game.

I truly believe that this team took the loss of Gaborik and Del Zotto and made it into something they could build momentum on. Those two players are instrumental to this lineup night in and night out, and to go out and defeat the defending champions in a hard-fought battle like they did without those two makes a statement.

Hopefully, we will see a similar effort on Sunday, when the Blueshirts will host the Tampa Bay Lightning in the final game before we break for the Olympics.