Penguins Toot Za Horn(a), Rip Rangers 5-2

As in any sport, there are games during the course of a hockey season that define a team’s heart and character. It’s destiny as well.

I call them statement games.

The Penguins played one last night at Madison Square Garden. In the wake of an ugly 8-4 shelling at the hands of the Rangers two night earlier, our guys drew a line in the sand (ice) and showed what they’re made of.

The result? A thoroughly convincing 5-2 drubbing of the Blueshirts. In the process snapping a two-game skid and opening up an 11-point bulge over the sixth-place New Yorkers.

Make no mistake, a huge win.

Perhaps it was only fitting that a huge player played a starring role. At 6:26 of the opening frame, rookie forward Radim Zohorna gathered in a lead pass from Marcus Pettersson and scooted into the Rangers’ zone with a surprising burst of speed. Using his giant 6’6” frame to ward off fellow Czech Libor Hajek, he cruised into the slot and beat goalie Igor Shesterkin with a buttery backhand-to-forehand move.

The goal gave the Pens a huge (there’s that word again) lift and set the tone for the evening.

Not that there weren’t some tense moments. Bonehead ones, too. Mike Matheson flipped the puck into the stands late in the period to hand the Rangers’ deadly power play an opportunity. No sooner did we kill that one than Jake Guentzel took a hooking penalty just 17 seconds into the second period. This time the Rangers cashed in.

Gut-check time. I’m proud to say our guys responded…in spades. Barely a minute after New York knotted the score Kris Letang worked a hustling give-and-go with Guentzel high in the Rangers’ end. After sizing up Shesterkin, he unleashed a seemingly routine shot that deflected in off Chris Kreider’s stick.

The Pens widened their lead to 3-1 on perhaps the prettiest play of the night, again involving Zohorna. Working on a mid-period power play with Sidney Crosby off the ice for repair work to his skates, the rookie pro won the faceoff and drew the puck back to John Marino. Marino skated to center point before dishing the puck to Jason Zucker. Spying Zohorna drifting to open ice beside the cage, Zucker delivered a sharp pass and “Big Z” did the rest, setting up Evan Rodrigues for a quick one-timer from the slot.

“E-Rod” and Zucker combined on our fourth goal as well. At 10:29 of the third period, Cody Ceci found Rodrigues with a sweet bounce-pass off the sideboards. The plucky Pens forward fought through a check by hulking K’Andre Miller before delivering a nifty pass to Zucker in the slot. Number 16 deftly switched to his backhand and beat Shesterkin through the five-hole.

Pretty play. Pretty goal.

The Rangers made it interesting when Penguin-killer Kevin Rooney struck three minutes later and Mika Zibanejad, always dangerous, ripped one off the post. But Mark Jankowski sealed the victory…not to mention a 6-2 edge in the season series…with an empty netter.

Statement delivered.

Puckpourri

The Pens pretty much had their way from start to finish, outshooting the Rangers, 32-24, and winning 59 percent of the faceoffs.

Speaking of draws, Frederick Gaudreau won 11 of 12 for a whopping 92 percent success rate. Freddy’s quietly emerged as an effective faceoff man (54.2 percent).

Ten Penguins scored at least a point. Letang, Rodrigues, Zohorna and Zucker paced the attack with two points apiece. Each tallied a goal and an assist.

After languishing for much of the season, Jankowski’s heated up of late. Perhaps feeling a push from Gaudreau, he’s notched a pair of goals and three helpers over his past three games and is a plus-six in his past four.

Crosby exited the ice late in the second period, causing this Pens fan to hold his breath. Sid mercifully returned in the third, logging 18:59 of ice time for the night.

Sam Lafferty took on Brendan Smith in a late second-period scrap and held his own.

Tristan Jarry stopped 22 of 24 shots in a bounce-back performance. The Rangers helped his cause by missing two wide-open nets.

The Pens presently hold third place in the MassMutual East with 52 points. Four head of fourth-place Boston, who have three games in hand. We trail the first-place Islanders by four points and the second-place Capitals by two.

Next up, a pair of games with the Devils in Newark.

Opinyinz

Hold the phone on acquiring that power forward…or at least a pricey one like Detroit’s Anthony Mantha. Zohorna has looked incredibly comfortable and capable in his four-game cameo (two goals, two assists, plus-three). He’s not making excuse-me plays, either. This kid’s got skills.

Yes, we’ve seen this before with Pierre-Olivier Joseph, who flashed ever-so brightly earlier this season before tumbling back to earth. But it’s not a stretch to say Zohorna belongs.

Mea Culpa

My bad for questioning the collective sanity of our brain-trust in the wake of Anthony Angello’s demotion to the taxi-squad.

It was since revealed the big guy suffered an upper-body injury.