Penguins Blank Rangers To Take Series Lead

The Pittsburgh Penguins have bounced back from a game one overtime loss to take a 2-1 series lead.

A big reason for the comeback has been the play of Penguins goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury.  He hasn't let in a goal since the overtime winner in the first game of the series.  Fleury is the first Penguins goalie to record a shutout in consecutive playoff games, according to Elias.  The goalie has stopped 72 of the last 73 shots he's faced in the series.

The Rangers made some lineup changes before the game to add some speed.  John Moore, Dan Carcillo and Derek Dorsett were all out of the lineup, while Raphael Diaz, J.T. Miller and Jasper Fast were all in the lineup.

The Rangers had their chances, especially on the power play, but they couldn't get anything past Fleury.  James Neal took a seat in the penalty box for four minutes because he caught Fast with a high stick.  Benoit Pouilot and Martin St. Louis both hit posts and the Rangers streak of not scoring on the power play continued.

The Penguins seem to build off the momentum of the penalty kill.  Roberto Bortuzzo made a nice stretch pass to Sidney Crosby, who skated in and beat Henrik Lundqvist to give the Penguins the 1-0 lead.  It was Crosby's first goal of the playoffs.  The Rangers next chance was a dandy.  Derick Brassard found a rebound, took the shot, beat Fleury, but the puck rolled along the length of the crossbar and never crossed the goal line.

Jussi Jokinen gave the Rangers another chance to tie the game on the power play when he went off for holding the stick.  The Rangers had shots and chances but just couldn't seem to get the puck past Fleury, who seemed in control.  Mats Zuccarello missed Brad Richards with as pass as Jokinen was coming out of the penalty box.  Jokinen found the puck, skated in all alone, hesitated for just a split second and the beat Lundqvist blocker side for the 2-0 lead.

The Rangers kept coming in the third period, out shooting the Penguins nine to one, but Fleury made the saves when his team needed him to.  The Rangers were 0-for-5 on the power play but did manage 10 shots on goal.  The Rangers also out shot the Penguins for the game by a 35-15 margin.

If the Rangers want to win game four, they need to find a way to put the puck in the net, especially on the power play.  If Fleury and the Penguins keep playing the way they are right now, they could win the series in five games.