Penguins/NHL
Brent Johnson made four saves and Evgeni Malkin fired a slap shot past goaltender Henrik Lundqvist at 3:42 in overtime as the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the New York Rangers 5-4 Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.
Malkin’s OT winner was the Penguins 55th shot as the Penguins dominated the play outshooting the Rangers 55-16.
The goal was oringinally credited to Jordan Staal but was officially changed this morning around 10:00 a.m.
Staal approached members of the Penguin communications staff after the game to say he did not touch the puck and should not be awarded the goal.
The NHL reviewed the goal this morning and agreed.
Starting goaltender Marc Andre Fleury was pulled at 12:49 of second period after giving up 4 goals on 12 shots. Pittsburgh trailed 4-2 at the time Fleury was pulled and Brent Johnson came in relief to earn his second straight win.
When pulled, Fleury reacted angrily, throwing his stick once he stepped onto the Penguins bench.
Johnson did not see much action but the goalie change sparked the Penguins offensively as the Penguins earned their second straight win.
Jordan Staal led the way for Pittsburgh offensively, with a goal and two assists, earning the games No. 1 star.
Chris Kunitz (9), Alex Goligoski (7) and Michael Rupp (12) also scored for Pittsburgh.
Goligoski’s third period tally was his first goal in 37 games.
Evgeni Malkin extended his points streak to 15 games and Sidney Crosby added an assist giving him 23 pts in his last 14 games.
Pittsburgh was 2-for-3 on the power play and have scored a power play goal in consecutive games since the Olympic break.
From the get-go it was a tough physical game and it played into the Rangers favor but as the game progressed, Pittsburgh made it into more of a puck possession game and controlled the play for the final 20+ minutes.
The Penguins outshot the Rangers 19-1 in the third period.
Pittsburgh improved to 38-22-4 on the season and have moved into first place in the Atlantic division. The Penguins end the season series with the New York Rangers 5-0-1.
Notes
*Penguins forward Bill Guerin was a late scratch after warmups due to back spasms.
*Newly acquired winger Alexei Ponikarovsky has acquired his work visa and will participate in his first practice with the Penguins Friday morning.
*Due to Billy Guerin being a late scratch, Jay McKee dressed as the 7th defenseman and saw limited ice time (5:40).
*Winger Pascal Dupuis led the Penguins with 10 shots on goal and was tied with Michael Rupp with a team high 7 hits.
*Winger Chris Kunitz had a strong game, finishing with a goal and two assists.
The Penguins return to action Saturday afternoon against the Dallas Stars.
