Letang, Rodrigues lead Penguins to 5-2 win over Rangers

NEW YORK (AP) — Kris Letang and Evan Rodrigues scored in the second period, and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the New York Rangers 5-2 Thursday night.

Radim Zohorna and Jason Zucker each added a goal and an assist, Mark Jankowski also scored, and Letang and Rodrigues also each had an assist. Tristan Jarry stopped 22 shots to help Pittsburgh snap a twogame skid.

The Penguins had given up 15 goals in the two losses — 7-5 at Boston last Saturday and 8-4 here to the Rangers on Tuesday night.

“We knew we had to turn the page quick,” Letang said. “We know going forward if we want to have success we need to play a good defensive game with the five-man unit out there. I think we tightened up today and we got the result.”

The Penguins beat the Rangers for the sixth time in eight games this season. Pittsburgh pulled two points behind second-place Washington in the East Division.

“It was an important win for us,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “This is something we can build off of.”

Colin Blackwell and Kevin Rooney scored for the Rangers, who were 3-0-1 in their last four. Igor Shesterkin, starting for the fifth straight game, made 27 saves.

“They were just on top of us all game,” New York defenseman Adam Fox said. “They did a good job forechecking and hemming us in our zone a little bit. ... They came out a little faster and it was obviously a tough one for us.”

Zucker scored on a backhander with 9:31 left in the third for is sixth to give the Penguins a 4-1 lead.

Rooney pulled the Rangers within two with 6:12 left. Fox drew Jarry out to the goalie’s left as he skated past the goal line and sent a pass back in front and Rooney scored into the open goal.