Sidney Crosby Breaks the Rangers' Heart with Game-Winning Goal for 4-3 Win

Sidney Crosby scored the game-winning goal in the third period and the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the New York Rangers, 4-3.

Sean Avery and the re-energized Rangers lost to Crosby and the revamped Penguins in a game considered pivotal to the standings in the stretch run.

The Penguins jumped over the Carolina Hurricane and are now tied with the Philadelphia Flyers in fourth place for the Eastern Conference Playoffs.

Avery was knocked around by the Penguins but kept his cool and picked up an assist on the first goal, for 10 points in 12 games since rejoining the Rangers this season. He also had his second fight in three games.

At The Igloo, it was Sean Avery and the Rangers versus Sid "The Kid" Crosby, Evgeny Malkin, and the Penguins.

Two division and conference rivals, separated by one point in the standings, met this afternoon in a critical contest and the New York Rangers found a way to win over the Pittsburgh Penguins at their Igloo.

The Rangers, 8-4-2 with John Tortorella as coach for their past 14 games, faced the Penguins, 11-1-2 with Dan Bylsma as their coach for their last 14 games.

Both teams had played 75 games, and the Penguins had a one-point lead (88-87) over the Rangers for sixth place in their conference with a one-point lead over the Rangers in seventh place.

To start the game, the Malkin line faced the Drury line. The Penguins had the first shot on net and Henrik Lundqvist, back in goal for the Rangers.

The Rangers second line was Avery, Scott Gomez, and Ryan Callahan. On their first shift, Avery got in a small scrap with Tyler Kennedy. Crosby almost scored on his first shift of the game, after setting up Chris Kunitz.

Avery and Kennedy yapped as they met at their next face-off. Kennedy gave the puck away on the next play, trying to hit Avery.

Kennedy and Avery dropped their gloves and helmets in front of the Pittsburgh bench.

Both got five minutes for fighting and the game got a huge hit of emotion.

Nik Zherdev was tripped by the Penguins enforcer Brooks Orpik but there was no call.

Derek Morris hooked Evgeny Malkin and the Penguins had the first powerplay. The Rangers killed the penalty, but the Penguins scored seconds after it ended. Maxime Talbot scored, assisted by Rusian Fedotenko and Orpik. 

Hal Gill knocked down Avery on the next play and there was no call. Crosby knocked Avery down right after that and that didn't merit a call either.

Matt Cooke scored on a rebound after a shot by Malkin. Lundqvist had his goal stick knocked out of this hand on the play. Malkin earned an assist on the play.

Malkin cross-checked Callahan in a scramble in front of the net after Avery got a good shot on goal and the Rangers went on their first power-play. Callahan, assisted by Avery, scored a huge goal to get the Rangers right back in the game.

It was Callahan's 20th goal of the year.

Gomez hit the post on the Rangers power play. Avery took a head-hunting hit by Gill without a penalty.

Brandon Dubinsky tied the game on a give-and-go with Zherdev, scoring on a great pass from Zherdev in the final seconds of the period.

The Rangers scored two goals in the final two minutes of the period to tie the game 2-2. The Rangers outshot the Penguins 15-9 in the first period.

Avery hit Rob Scuderi at the start of the second period.

Orr dropped the gloves with Eric Godard for the fourth time this season. They kept their helmets on. Godard, 28, is 6' 4", 214, and has eight points in 200 NHL games with 486 penalty minutes.

Gomez put the puck on the Penguins goal line, but Fedotenko scored for Pittsburgh, making it 3-2.

Avery got knocked down by Jordan Staal and hit again by Staal, with no call. He got knocked down on the next play, too.

Lundqvist stopped a series of four good shots by Crosby.

Nik Antropov tied the game at three apiece, using his long reach to beat Marc-Andre Fleury. Antropov's 27th goal of the year was his sixth in 12 games as a Ranger.

Drury and Orpik collided at the start of the third penalty and Orpik got called for tripping. The Rangers scored on the power play.

Orr got a five minute major for interference and a game misconduct on an intent-to-injure call that appeared to infuriate Rangers Coach Tortorella and baffled many at the Igloo.

Rule 56.4, a major for interference, is almost never called. Orr drew blood on the play.

Dubinsky and Crosby mixed it up halfway through the period. Crosby scored his 29th of the season halfway through the third period.

Crosby is on a 15-game point streak with eight goals and 17 assists for 25 points.

The Rangers pulled Lundqvist in the last two minutes and Antropov got robbed by Fleury. Drury hooked Malkin to prevent him from scoring on the open net.

Crosby hit the post with the net empty.

Malkin has not scored against the Rangers all year. He is making a run for the Hart Trophy, awarded to the league’s Most Valuable Player, and leads the NHL with 107 points. He had an assist in the game against the Rangers.

The game was the sixth and final for this year between the Rangers and Penguins. New York won three of the five games against the Penguins—with two of the victories coming via the shootout, but the Pens won the last two by big scores.

Those games, played in Pittsburgh, with the Rangers in their worst slump in decades, ended with the Pens winning 3-0 on Jan. 18 and 6-2 ten days later.

If the Rangers had won, they would have hopped over the Penguins to be in sixth spot with a four-point lead over the Habs.

For more than a month, Pittsburgh has been nearly impossible to beat in regulation, going 12-1-2 since Feb. 25.

The New York Rangers have lost 13 of their last 16 road games.

The Rangers head back home where they will host the Devils at Madison Square Garden on Monday night, before returning to the road to skate in Carolina next Thursday and in Boston on April 4.

The Rangers are one win shy of their fourth consecutive 40-win season for the first time since the 1970's.