For a while it looked like the New York Rangers were going to build on their big win over Toronto and do the same to the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was not to be as the Pens scored five straight goals and totally dominated the overmatched Blueshirts.
The New York Rangers jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead on goals by Brendan Lemieux and Vinni Lettieri. The Garden was rocking and Ranger fans were pinching themselves. 26 seconds later it all started to unravel and Alexandar Georgiev proved to be mortal. The bottom line is the Rangers never had a chance.
For a while David Quinn looked like a genius. He put Brendan Lemieux on the top line and there he was, finishing a passing play from Mika Zibanejad and Pavel Buchnevich to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead. He put Vinni Lettieri on the power play and there he was, taking a wicked one-timer off a brilliant pass from Tony DeAngelo for a 2-0 lead.
But as much of a magician that Quinn may be, he cannot play for his team and a defensive breakdown led to a Nick Bjugstad seconds after Lettieri’s goal. At that point the Rangers decided to get into a run and gun shooting match with the Penguins That turned out to be a fatal mistake and methodically the Penguins added four more goals for a depressing 5-2 loss for the Rangers.
The word is that Henrik Lundqvist was supposed to get the start, but told Quinn that Georgiev deserved the honor based on his fantastic effort against Toronto. Lundqvist must have known something. Georgiev did not have a good night and seemed to be battling the puck all night. While he was the victim of a gifted opponent, he didn’t make any spectacular saves and the final score reflected his bad night.