Penguins player reports vs Rangers: Neal, Letang, Vokoun & Vitale earn high grades

Sidney Crosby| 1 assist, + 1 rating, 5 SOG, 2 Hits, 20 shifts, 18:05 TOI-5:41 PP- 0:43 SH - 11:41 EV, 6 FW - 15 FL, 28.6%

Sidney Crosby had a second straight so-so game, notching an assist in the win. Crosby's first point of the season came off  a faceoff win as he beat Derek Stepan clean in the offensive zone, setting up Matt Niskanen's first period tally. Overall, though, Crosby was poor in the faceoff circle, winning just 6 of 21 faceoffs. | Grade: C+ |

Evgeni Malkin | 3 Assists, +1 rating, 2 SOG, 1 BS, 1 Hit, 2 TK, 1 GV, 20 shifts, 16:50 TOI-5:46 PP - 0:07 SH - 10:57 EV, 2 FW - 8 FL, 20%

Malkin led the way offensively with 3 assists and his ability to find open players was tremendous. All three of his assists were primary assists and until his gaffe in the neutral zone on Rich Nash's third period breakaway goal, Malkin was playing an excellent two-way game. He was playing his own end and back checking hard, had a takeway from Rick Nash early in the game that stood out and I liked Malkin's emphasis on playing his own well.  | Grade: B+ |

Brandon Sutter | 0 points, even rating, 3 SOG, 2 BS, 2 PIM, 1 TK, 21 Shifts, 16:45 TOI-0:45 PP - 2:31 SH - 13:37 EV, - 10 FW - 6 FL, 62.5%.

Sutter took a bad faceoff violation penalty in the first period, leading to a Ryan Callahan goal during a 5-on-3 opportunity. Aside from that, Sutter's overall game was quiet tonight which isn't always a bad thing. Was effective in the faceoff circle winning 10 of 16 draws. | Grade: B- |

Joe Vitale | 1 Assist, even rating, 3 SOG, 1 BS,  3 Hits, 18 Shifts, 14:14 TOI-0:00 PP - 0:00 SH - 14:14 EV, 8 FW - 4 FL, 66.7%.

After being a healthy scratch vs Flyers, Vitale played like a player who won't be coming out of the lineup Wednesday night vs Toronto. Vitale had a very strong game and setup Tyler Kennedy's goal, beating a flat footed Stu Bickel with speed wide and getting to the net as Kennedy put home the rebound. Vitale was also strong in the faceoff circle, winning 66.7% of his draws. | Grade: B+|