Rangers vs. Penguins: Game 5 Score and Twitter Reaction from 2016 NHL Playoffs

The Pittsburgh Penguins made sure there would be no New York Rangers comeback on Saturday with a 6-3 victory in Game 5 at the Consol Energy Center to win the series 4-1. 

Pittsburgh exploded for four goals in the second period to break a 2-2 first-period tie, putting the game away and exorcising some postseason demons in the process. In each of the last two seasons, New York had knocked Pittsburgh out of the playoffs, including a 2014 series that saw the Rangers rally from a 3-1 deficit to eliminate the Penguins. 

The Rangers had time to fume over their 5-0 Game 4 blowout loss on Thursday and came out flying on Saturday. Just 1:02 into the game, Rick Nash deflected a low Dan Girardi shot through rookie goaltender Matt Murray and into the back of the net, per NBCSN:

For the young Pittsburgh goalie, who is standing in for the injured Marc-Andre Fleury, it was one of very few mistakes he made in his three starts during the playoffs. He was solid yet again Saturday, stopping 38 of 41 Rangers shots. 

In his three games in goal this series, Murray stopped 85 of 89 shots in total. 

The early goal was the first time this series the Rangers scored in the first period and their first even-strength tally in more than 140 minutes of play. 

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Dave Molinari saw a huge difference in the two teams early on:

Seemingly out of nothing, though, the Penguins found an equalizer on just their fourth shot of the day with 10:10 left in the first period.

It was ex-Ranger Carl Hagelin who sent home a pass from Phil Kessel right in front of Henrik Lundqvist's net:

Derek Stepan was caught watching his former teammate move right on top of Lundqvist, and WFAN's Brian Monzo proposed a theory as to why Hagelin was able to score so easily:

New York punched right back less than a minute later when Patric Hornqvist kicked a puck that came off Murray's post and it wound up in the net. 

The goal was awarded to Dominic Moore, as Hornqvist's kicked puck hit his leg before going in.

With instant replay now dominating storylines around the league during these playoffs, the Sporting News' Sean Gentille jokingly pointed out the referees missed a call there:

The seesaw quickly tilted back in the Penguins' favor 1:04 later thanks to their stellar power play, which came into Saturday 7-of-19 this series.

A Brady Skjei boarding penalty gave Pittsburgh a man advantage, and Kessel capitalized, coming down the right wing and snapping a wrister that hit off Lundqvist's stick and went in, as the NHL showed:

NBC Sports' Stephen Lorenzo was in awe of Kessel's quick hands:

The Penguins took their first lead of the game 5:21 into the second period when Bryan Rust finished off a beautiful passing move started by Matt Cullen and Trevor Daley. 

A strong forecheck that showed off Pittsburgh's team speed and ability to pressure opponents created a turnover in the Rangers zone to set up the goal. 

Second-year winger Rust was set up perfectly to score his first career playoff goal, as Daley's primary assist came in the form of a slap pass that got Lundqvist out of position, per the NHL: 

Cullen went from secondary provider to goal scorer less than five minutes later after another Rangers turnover. The 39-year-old veteran wristed home a quick shot after Rust pressured Derick Brassard to lose the puck.

The lower lines were getting it done, and the Penguins wanted to make sure everyone knew:

Game 5 was a second straight outing from Lundqvist in which he allowed four goals on the first 18 shots he faced. Those numbers aren't characteristic of a goalie who's widely considered one of the best in the league. But he received little help from his defense, which constantly put him in situations where he had to make immaculate saves. 

TSN's Travis Yost began to wonder when Lundqvist's patience for the subpar defense would run out:

Things didn't get better for Lundqvist when a Sidney Crosby-led odd-man rush set up Conor Sheary for another wrister with just less than four minutes to go in the second period. 

The Sporting News' Corey Masisak noticed just how easy it was for the Penguins:

Less than three minutes later, with 58.7 seconds to go in the period, Rust got his second of the night when the Penguins once again were able to just walk into the Rangers zone, via the NHL:

Evgeni Malkin, a second-liner, provided the assist, and the Penguins' lower unit was looking historically good to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Mark Kaboly:

Lundqvist was done after the second period, coming off for Antti Raanta. Really, so were the Rangers, as the deficit was too large to climb out of in just 20 minutes. 

Chris Kreider managed to pull one back on the power play for New York with a deflection of a Raphael Diaz slap shot, but that was all they were able to get past Murray, despite dominating most of the final period.

Pittsburgh will now face the winner of the Washington Capitals-Philadelphia Flyers series, which the Capitals lead 3-2. Washington had a 3-0 lead in the series, but superb goaltending from Michal Neuvirth has stolen a pair of games for the Flyers. 

While there is a large difference in potential opponents for the Penguins—the Flyers are the No. 2 wild-card team in the East, while the Capitals won the Presidents' Trophy—at this point, it might not even matter. The Penguins are firing on all cylinders and seem unstoppable, no matter how good the opposing defense or goaltender is. 

Taking care of a team that's made it to the Eastern Conference Final in each of the past two seasons will make that kind of statement. 

Postgame Reaction

Crosby let it be known what put the Penguins over the top in this series, according to NBC Sports:

He also credited the coaching system laid out by Mike Sullivan, one that's seen them win 18 of their last 21 games, per the Penguins:

With those kinds of results, it's easy to see why the Penguins believe in Sullivan and his coaching philosophy. 

Pittsburgh is a relentless team that is getting production from every corner of the roster. If this keeps up, it could be playing into June.

Lundqvist, on the other hand, didn't hold back when assessing his team's performance, according to Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:

He also disclosed how he was feeling during that second-period barrage, per Adamski:

This series should be a clear message as to what the Rangers need to work on this offseason, which is improving their defense. They just couldn't keep up with the speed and intensity of the Penguins and left Lundqvist out to dry too many times this series. 

If they can make some moves and improve on that, there's a good chance they'll return to their normal high perch in the Eastern Conference.