GEEZ, LOUISE!
Few raves for Sarandon in Rangers’ win
DERICK Brassard was back at the Garden once again Wednesday night, comfortable as a visitor now after last year’s regular season and playoffs, but this was his first visit as a member of the rival Penguins, who acquired him at the deadline to bolster their chances at a three-peat.
He’s got another Stanley Cup run upcoming after facing the Penguins in the playoffs each of the last four years, the first three with the Rangers. Wednesday night, though, it was the player the Rangers acquired from Ottawa for Brassard, Mika Zibanejad, sending Brassard and the Penguins home after a pair of gutpunches. Zibanejad tied the game with 3:17 left in regulation and scored the overtime winner in the Rangers’ 4-3 victory.
The Rangers trailed 2-0 before twice tying the game in the third. Though their chances at a higher draft pick go down with each win, the players who remain after the Rangers’ trade-deadline purge don’t want to sleepwalk through to the end of the season.
“It’s a group of professional athletes. Guys aren’t going to quit,” said Chris Kreider, who had a career-high four points (goal, three assists) and looked like the player from that third period against Ottawa in Game 6 last year, the period Alain Vigneault mentioned several times in autumn.
Brassard is reunited with friend Carl Hagelin, who scored with 4:19 left in regulation shortly after Jesper Fast tied a game broadcasted by NBCSN, which featured Susan Sarandon between the benches with Pierre McGuire during the first period.
The verdict on Twitter was overwhelmingly negative regarding the head-scratching decision to have the 71-year-old actress, a longtime Rangers fan, be part of the coverage. While NBC hoped this would help the game have a broader reach, a number of fans tweeted about muting their televisions or turning the game off altogether. Sarandon was the third guest NBCSN had this season in such a role on its hockey coverage.
Alexandar Georgiev won his third straight start after patiently stopping a Evgeni Malkin penalty shot with 10.7 seconds left in the third. Georgiev was assessed a delay of game for bumping the net off its moorings, and because that infraction occurred with less than two GETTY minutes left in the game, by rule Pittsburgh was awarded a penalty shot. “I was a little shocked. I didn’t know about that rule,” said Zibanejad, who had a career-high nine shots. “Georgiev made a great save and got us a chance in overtime.”
It was only the 22-year-old Georgiev’s sixth NHL appearance and he had to face one of the world’s best players on a penalty shot in a tie game with seconds remaining. The confident Georgiev said he didn’t knock the net off on purpose and wasn’t nervous. “Not more than usual.” Kreider called it a “daunting” situation. “Your heart kind of drops when you find out it’s a penalty shot but Georgie did an unbelievable job,” he said.