Can Rangers seize momentum following Crosby injury?
NEW YORK » Depending on what side of the wall you were on, there was a decidedly different vibe after Game 5 of the Eastern Conference First Round matchup between the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers on Wednesday night.
With COVID protocols still being what they are, the welcomed return to in-person media availability is rather unique in some buildings, with Madison Square Garden perhaps being one of the National Hockey League’s more interesting setups.
The former media dining room has, at least for this season, been converted into a press conference room, with a small divider separating the smaller visitor’s “room” from where the Rangers typically hold their availability.
On that side? All smiles after a comeback, 5-3 win to extend the best-of-series to Game 6 in Pittsburgh, their deficit now at three games to two.
Down two goals deep into the second period, the Blueshirts strung together three straight goals in the span of 2:42 to take the lead, allowed the game-tying goal by Jake Guentzel just 13 seconds after Jacob Trouba had scored the go-ahead tally, and then potted an early third-period power play goal off the stick of Filip Chytil to take the lead back for good.
“They were competitive as hell tonight, and that’s what we wanted from them,” Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant said. “Be competitive, try to win a lot of one-on-one battles, and we played hard. Down 2-0, but we still played hard the whole time and battled back. Once we got that first goal, it was a big boost for our club.”
It isn’t quite that simple, however. Not much has been in this series.
Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby was forced to leave the game with an undisclosed upper-body injury after taking a high, hard and unpenalized hit by Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba midway through the second period. The floodgates opened soon after that, with the tide of the game and perhaps the series — depending on how serious the injury is to Crosby — swinging decidedly in the favor of the Rangers.
On the other side of the divider, Pittsburgh head coach Mike Sullivan was, as you’d expect, none too pleased that his captain, who has a long history of concussion issues, was injured. He was asked if he felt like Trouba had “intent” on the hit.
“Did you see the hit,” Sullivan asked the reporter. “You probably have the same opinion I do.”
Gallant, who was not questioned specifically about the nature of the hit, pointed to the depth of top-line scorers the Penguins have even without Crosby when the subject came up.
“Obviously, he’s one of the best players in the world,” he said. “They still had some great chances, they still create a lot. But, he’s a great player for them, and hopefully he’s OK.”
Sullivan, to his credit, didn’t use Crosby’s exit as an excuse, saying he didn’t think there was a letdown on his bench after the Future Hall of Famer’s night came to an early end, while he was hopeful that Evgeni Malkin, who will one day join Crosby with a bust in Toronto, would be able to once again pick up some of the slack as he has in the past.
“I just think we’ve got an experienced group, we’ve got to just keep playing the game,” he said. “We didn’t win the wall battles, we didn’t get pucks out, and as a result, we had four or five minutes of extended defensive zone play. We just simply
have to do a better job there… we feel like we’re deep at (center) and we have what it takes to win, regardless of who’s in our lineup. (Evgeni Malkin) is an important guy for us. That combination, Sid and ‘Geno’ have been two of the best in the league for 15-plus years. When one is out, the other
steps up, that’s been my experience since I’ve been here. Depending on what happens moving forward, I’m sure ‘Geno’ will bring his best.”
The series shifts to Pittsburgh on Friday night for Game 6, with a potential Game 7 set for Sunday back in Manhattan.