RETURN OF THE KING
Injured eye doesn’t stop Lundqvist as Rangers top Pens to even series:
PITTSBURGH — An eye for an eye. Henrik Lundqvist sparkled in Saturday afternoon’s intense, must-have 4-2 Game 2 win over the Penguins overcoming any uncertainty about whether the swollen, black and blue right eye that had forced him out of Wednesday night’s Game 1 loss would compromise his level of play.
“It was important for me to get good news at the doctor’s so I could just put that aside,” Lundqvist said of Thursday’s visit to a local specialist to confirm his eye was not damaged. “Knowing that there’s nothing wrong, that the reason I feel pressure is that there’s a little swelling there – that there’s nothing that should excuse me for not being ready.”
Derick Brassard (goal, two assists) and Pittsburgh-area product J.T. Miller (three assists) jump-started a second-period comeback from a 1-0 deficit to finally exploit Pens third-string goalie Jeff Zatkoff (24 saves) and finally get the Rangers emotionally charged after Wednesday’s lackluster effort to start the series.
“We just put the puck in the net,” said Brassard, whose goal 12:56 into the middle frame gave the Blueshirts their first lead of the series. “In Game 1, we didn’t do it.”
But Lundqvist’s perfect 10-save first period, his flawless 26-save even-strength performance and final-minute lockdown reestablished a mental edge for the Rangers headed back to New York for Game 3 on Tuesday night.
Pittsburgh, after all, still hasn’t beaten the Rangers in this series when Lundqvist plays the full 60 minutes.
He did not take the Game 1 loss, since Antti Raanta replaced him at first intermission after Marc Staal’s stick inadvertently poked through his mask. Now, Lundqvist has a 5-0 record his last five road playoff games at the Penguins, plus an 8-1 record his last 10 appearances against them in eliminating them two straight years.
The Rangers played like this was a must-win, avoiding a perilous 2-0 hole that they have overcome in a series only twice in 23 opportunities in franchise history. Keith Yandle (12:38), Brassard (12:56) and Mats Zuccarello (16:52) scored three unanswered goals in a five-minute span of the second period for a 3-1 lead, all on primary assists from Miller, of East Palestine, Ohio.
Miller, who had zero career points in three road playoff games at Pittsburgh coming in, said he intentionally told family not to make a “big deal” about this series. So he didn’t “have that many people at the game.
“I’m just really happy we tied the series,” he said. “(Coming home) wasn’t a huge distraction. They just kind of let me do my thing. Everybody was on the same page. It’s nice to do this here, I guess, but it didn’t matter where we were.”
Chris Kreider then gave the Blueshirts a 4-1 lead 39 seconds into the third period, burying the Pens despite Phil Kessel’s second power play goal of the game on a 4-on-3. Kreider helped lead a concerted effort to physically bully the Penguins’ defensemen and hassle them into mistakes, beginning with a crushing first-period hit on top Pens defenseman Kris Letang.
Derek Stepan and Brassard both forced turnovers of Ian Cole and Trevor Daley, respectively, prior to Ranger goals. An Olli Maatta misplay led to Brassard’s break-in, and Brian Dumoulin was victimized all night by the Rangers, including by his former Boston College teammate, Kreider.
“I think our intensity without the puck was a lot higher than it was last game,” said alternate captain Marc Staal, the leader on the back end with captain Ryan McDonagh (right hand) and Dan Girardi (injury) both out. “Last game we had the puck a lot more so we weren’t able to get physical or chippy, but we definitely did a lot more of that today.”
The Rangers’ 57 hits, led by eight from Kevin Klein and seven apiece from Brassard and Tanner Glass, set a franchise record for a playoff game that ended in regulation. It offset the Penguins’ early energy sparked by the returns of forwards Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust, so that the Blueshirts could take advantage of the absence of the Pens’ top two goalies — Marc-Andre Fleury (concussion) and Matt Murray (upper-body) — and lean on their King.