Rangers Rip Penguins, 7-4

In a track meet of a Metro matinee matchup that featured tons of pulse-pounding, end-to-end action, the visiting Rangers prevailed yesterday afternoon, 7-4. In the process all but snuffing out the Penguins’ flickering playoff hopes.

Our boys drew first blood at 2:36 of the opening frame on a long-range goal by John Ludvig, the second in two games for the rookie defender.

It took all of 57 seconds for the Rangers to not only erase our lead but establish one of their own. At 3:07, Kaapo Kakko, rumored to be in play in a potential deal for Jake Guentzel, wristed the puck in from the doorstep following what could charitably be described as sluggish d-zone coverage by the black-and-gold.

On the ensuing Rangers rush, defenseman Adam Fox was afforded about a day-and-a-half to wend his way through the right circle unfettered before beating Tristan Jarry on the backhand. In the process, establishing an anything-you-can-do-we-can-do-better tone for the afternoon.

Yet our Pens hung tough…at least for a while. Bryan Rust knotted the score at 2-2 with his 20^th goal of the campaign from a sharp angle at 12:27, courtesy of a pretty cross-crease pass from Sidney Crosby.

Alas, the Rangers struck back again three minutes later following a neutral-zone turnover by Rust. Poison pill Artemi Panarin finished off a perfectly elevated pass from ‘Burgh native Vincent Trocheck on a 2-on-1 to give the Rags a 3-2 advantage heading into the first intermission.

Again, the Pens refused to roll over. When Lars Eller tied the score at 3-3 with a power-play goal midway through the second period, I confess my hopes began to rise. Maybe, just maybe, our guys weren’t finished after all.

Then pfft…those hopes were dashed. Key penalty killer Noel Acciari was called for tripping at 16:15. “Cookie” had barely dusted off the seat in the sin bin when Panarin pounced on a loose puck thanks to some nifty net-front footwork by Chris Kreider and scored.

Kris Letang, who’d traded whacks with Kreider seconds earlier, promptly gave the refs an unsolicited (and apparently spicy) earful.

Tweet. A two-minute minor for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Boom. A second Rangers power-play goal, this one by Mika Zibanejad to cap a rush and make it 5-3.

Buh-bye to a legit shot of winning the game (not to mention our playoff hopes).

To our credit, the Pens dug deep and even dominated the third period, piling up obscene advantages in shot attempts (31-13), shots on goal (16-7), scoring chances (20-6) and high-danger chances (8-3). But Jarry, his vision impaired by traffic, failed to stop a long-range blooper by K’Andre Miller from the farthest recesses of our zone at 4:41.

Valtteri Puustinen scored a pretty goal off the rush a couple of minutes later thanks to a nice feed from Reilly Smith to close the gap to two. But Jonathan Quick held firm despite incessant pressure and Kreider tacked on an empty-netter with 18 seconds to play for the final margin of victory.

Puckpourri

As previously mentioned, the Pens dominated the shot-based stats. According to Natural Stat Trick, we rolled up decisive edges in shot attempts (75-55), shots on goal (38-28), scoring chances (45-31) and high-danger chances (19-16).

It wasn’t Jarry’s finest honor. He yielded six goals on 23 shots before being pulled in favor of Alex Nedeljkovic following Miller’s floater. However, our team defense was, in a word…atrocious. Unless you’re a fan of d-men standing idly by and watching as the opposing team swarms your net.

Drew O’Connor has three goals and nine points in his last 14 games. He appears to have found a home with Sid. Michael Bunting (the primary assist on Eller’s goal) meshed well with Evgeni Malkin and Rickard Rakell. The Smith-Eller-Puustinen trio had the best xGF% (75.18).

Unfortunately, process only takes you so far. You’ve still got to execute.

When we score, our defense goes to pot. And when we adopt a defend-first posture, our offense dries up. It’s like sleeping in a short-sheeted bed. Either way, you’re exposed.

A silver cloud in the dreary lining. Great to see kids like O’Connor, Puustinen and Ludvig getting an opportunity to play…and play through their mistakes. It’s the only way they learn.

Sure wish we’d give Sam Poulin the same chance.

Speaking of opportunities, Alex Nylander’s making the most of his…and then some…in Columbus. Yesterday he tallied two goals and three points in the Blue Jackets’ 4-2 win over the Sharks. The former eighth overall pick now has eight goals and 11 points in 11 games since being dealt to the CBJ.

It should be noted that he’s sniping at a 20.5 percent clip, which is likely unsustainable. But still…

On the flip side, our return in the deal, Emil Bemström, has a goal and two assists in a dozen games with the Pens.

While we’re talking trades? Guentzel registered two assists and scored the shootout winner in the ‘Canes 5-4 victory over Toronto.

On Deck

The Pens (29-28-9, 67 points) host Detroit (34-27-6, 74 points) at PPG Paints Arena this evening. The Red Wings snapped a seven-game losing streak yesterday with a 4-1 victory over the Sabres.

We trail the Wings by seven points in the wild card chase. Earn anything but a regulation win tonight and we kiss our imploding playoff hopes goodbye (if we haven’t already).

As for my personal prediction of us going 3-17 in our final 20? We’re 1-2-1 thus far with 16 more to play.