NEW YORK — The Penguins scored the third-most goals in the NHL this year and have Sidney Crosby, Phil Kessel and Evgeni Malkin on their roster. You can point to Pittsburgh’s record as the sixth-stingiest team in the league for goals against, but the signature of the Penguins continues to be their offensive game.
Tuesday night, in Game 3 of their first-round series against the Rangers, the Penguins delivered a signature defensive performance.
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After Matt Cullen’s tiebreaking goal, 4:16 into the third period, New York still had plenty of time to get back on level footing. It never happened, and Kris Letang wrapped up the Penguins’ 3-1 win with an empty-net goal 13 seconds from the buzzer. The final period saw the Rangers, desperately chasing an equalizer, register a paltry four shots on goal. It made things a lot easier for goalie Matt Murray in his playoff debut, a 16-save win.
“I think at the end, we tried to come with speed,” said Rangers forward J.T. Miller, who was correctly ruled offside on a video review that wiped out a Chris Kreider goal in the first period. “We chipped pucks in when we got a chance. I don’t think we turned it over much at the blue line. It was just one of those games where they played a good game and made it really tough on us.”
It was tough on spectators, too, because the result was a night with very little drama, even though it was tied or a one-goal game for all but those final 13 seconds. The Rangers got a short-handed goal from Rick Nash at the 39-second mark of the second period and the Penguins tied it up on a Crosby power play redirection at the end of the middle stanza. At even strength, scoring chances were few and far between on both sides.
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“This time of year, they’re not going to be pretty for the most part,” Crosby said. He was referring to his goal, which came off a slap pass from Kessel, but just as easily could have meant the game as a whole. “They’re going to be ugly. … We’ll try to keep finding ways.”
Ian Cole, right, patrols the slot. (Getty Images)
That’s something the Penguins far too often have not been able to do in the spring. Three of the past five seasons, Pittsburgh has exited after one playoff round. There are myriad reasons why the Penguins have struggled in the playoffs, and it’s not fair to say that a primarily offensive team cannot thrive in the postseason, but games like this are games the Penguins definitely have lost more than their share of in recent years.
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“We defended the right way, I thought,” Crosby said. “We didn’t sit back. We were aggressive and pursued the puck, and didn’t allow them to get a ton generated when they got a push back. You understand they’re going to get some looks, but we did a good job of spending more time in their end.”
The Penguins definitely succeeded in keeping the Rangers contained by keeping the puck for themselves. Pittsburgh had 11 shots on goal in the third period and a 19-15 advantage in shot attempts. That is not how things generally go for a team with a lead.
“I think our team showed we’re comfortable in that game,” Kessel said. “We did everything we had to do to get a win. … It was a real tight game, so whenever you get a chance, you have to bear down.”
The Penguins bore down instead of breaking down, and it got them a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series, reclaiming home-ice advantage after the Rangers had wrested it away with their Game 2 win. The team from the city of the Steel Curtain thrived in a defensive environment, and the ability to succeed not only at that, but at multiple different types of games, is the reason that this spring may be different for Pittsburgh.