Crosby, Penguins have Rangers on the brink heading into Game 5

Sidney Crosby and the Penguins were stymied by Igor Shesterkin during the regular season. They have now chased the Rangers’ Vezina Trophy finalist the last two games and are one win from advancing to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in four years.

They can do that Wednesday night in Game 5 at Madison Square Garden, where they earned a split of the first two games.

After scoring just four goals against Shesterkin in four regular-season games, the Penguins have torched him for 10 goals in three periods over the last two games. He left after giving up four goals in the first period of Game 3 and then again after allowing six in two periods of Game 4.

“He’s probably real frustrated. There’s probably four goals that were deflected (Monday night),” Newyorkcoachgerardgallantsaid after the 7-2 loss in Game 5 before declaring he intends to stick with Shesterkinforgame5.“he’llbeback in there and he’ll be ready to win the next game Wednesday night.”

As surprising as Shesterkin’s struggles have been, so has the solid play of Penguins goalie Louis Domingue. Pittsburgh’s No. 3 goalie was thrust into the spotlight due to injuries to starter Tristan Jarry and backup Casey Desmith, and has gone 3-1 with a 3.40 goals-against average and a .906 save-percentage.

The Penguins, making their 16th straight postseason appearnace, also have a lot of confidence after their latest win moved them to the verge of advancing for the first time since reaching the second round in 2018 following back-toback Stanley Cup championships.

“We got to stay hungry and just stay in the moment,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “We have a veteran leadership, we have a great group in there that has been through a lot of playoff experiences and they understand how hard it is. The elimination game is always the most difficult.”

Aftertotalingthreegoalsandthree assists the previous three postseasons,crosbyhastwogoalsandseven assists in this series. He expects the Rangers to bring their best.

“We know we have a lot of work left,” he said. “They’re a good hockey team. We’ve definitely got an opportunity but we know it’s going to be a big challenge going to New York.”