The Rangers went on the road and pulled out a 4-3 win over the Penguins. Ondrej Pavelec, starting for the first time since October 28 in place of an ill Henrik Lundqvist (flu), made 41 saves, some of them shaky, to earn the victory. Boo Nieves rallied his first goal of the season while a lucky bounce gave Pavel Buchnevich the game-winning tally in the third period.
Game recap:
MSG Post-game:
Branch Rickey used to say ‘luck is the residue of design.’ In addition, it’s better to be lucky than good. New York had their share of luck and fortunate bounces along the way. Pittsburgh hit four posts, including Evgeni Malkin late in the contest with the side of the goal open. In addition, Brady Skjei got away with a slash of Malkin's stick right before Jesper Fast scored to tie the game at two. Mats Zuccarello's goal squeaked through Tristan Jarry’s pads after a head fake looking backwards before shot and, as noted above, Buchnevich’s goal was an attempted that was deflected past Jarry off Kris Letang's stick. But, New York helped make their own breaks during the contest with their effort and compete level.
Pavelec left several rebounds and was shaky at times, but stood tall when needed. In earning the win, Pavelec made 41 saves, several coming down the stretch. He may not have answered all the questions surrounding him coming into the game and New York may still need a solid backup goalie, but Pavelec earned a little bit of a longer leash on his current role. The Rangers are off until Friday, which might allow Lundqvist sufficient time to get healthy. If not Friday versus Washington, Hank might play Saturday against New Jersey.
After a very strong first period, New York was outplayed by Pittsburgh the last 40 minutes, especially during the second when outshot 23-8 and down the stretch in the third. Defensively, the team’s neutral and own zone coverage left a lot to be desired. Too much open space and poor handoffs were the norm rather than the scdeption. Ryan McDonagh especially didn’t have a great game, including getting caught out of position on the breakout pass to Patric Hornqvist on the power play goal and his silly icing as New York was trying to protect a one-goal lead.
Better an ugly win than a pretty loss. The shining grace in the win was the play of the fourth line. Nieves’ first was aided by a good screen in front by Paul Carey. Fast’s tally was a result of going hard to the net and potting home the rebounds. The top line of Kreider-Desh-Buch continued their solid chemistry while I thought the Vesey-Hayes-Nash line was okay, not great, and Nash didn’t have a particularly strong game, though that line appeared to be okay when matched up on Sidney Crosby. But a win on the road against the two-time defending champs without their top center and goalie should never be overlooked or tossed aside despite how it occurred. Take the two points, move on and work on what needs to be fixed.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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