Kessel, Crosby score in shootout for win
much a surprise when things like that happen [for Crosby].”
The sequence didn’t seem to shock Lundqvist, either, although he obviously was not anticipating it at the time.
“That’s why he has 43 goals,” Lundqvist said. “He was shooting for my head — it hit my head, and I can’t really stop it with my head.
“He surprised me. Not a lot of guys think of shooting at your head from [there], but he did, so give him credit.”
Crosby’s goal, spectacular as it was, is not the one that secured the victory that pulled the Penguins out of a 0-2-2 skid.
He notched that one in Round 2 of the shootout, after Phil Kessel had scored on Lundqvist in the first round and Penguins goalie Matt Murray had denied Mika Zibanejad and Mats Zuccarello of the Rangers.
Of course, Crosby and Kessel only had the opportunity to score in the shootout because Murray had stopped a three-on-one break by the Rangers with roughly a half-minute remaining in overtime.
Murray said his only thought as the three-man rush was developing, and in the seconds before he rejected a shot by Rangers winger Michael Grabner, was “Stop the puck.”
Not a very complicated concept, perhaps, but it worked.
The victory raised the Penguins record to 47-19-11. They remain in third place in the Metropolitan Division, seven points ahead of the fourth-place Rangers.
The Penguins also climbed to within one point of secondplace Columbus, pending the outcome of the Blue Jackets’ game in Chicago.
They never trailed against New York, and twice had two-goal leads.
The Rangers, though, forced overtime when Chris Kreider knocked in a loose puck with 11.6 seconds remaining in regulation.
That could have been crushing for the Penguins, whose confidence had been dented a bit by their struggles of late, but they rebounded nicely.
“I give a lot of credit to our guys,” Rust said. “I don’t think anybody really got down.
“When you’re in a little bit of a slump, you’re going to have to find ways to win. You’re going to have to get ugly ones; not everything is going to go your way.
“We’re inching our way back to where we want to be.”