Pittsburgh 3 Rangers 0: Just about two weeks ago it was New York dominating Pittsburgh on its home ice. Sunday the Penguins returned the favor thanks to great goaltending from Marc Andre-Fleury. Fleury stopped all 33 shots he faced and was particularly impressive in the second period when he faced 16 shots.
And it was the second period that was really pivotal. The Rangers entered it down 2-0 and had to fend off a penalty shot from Sidney Crosby. Henrik Lundqvist was up to the challenge, but the Rangers couldn’t build on that momentum. A few minutes later, Petr Sykora scored to put the Penguins up 3-0 and New York never really challenged again.
The Rangers have one more game before the All-Star break and while they still lead the Atlantic Division by a point, it is clear that something has to be changed. The team relies way too much on Lundqvist and the offense must be improved. But Glen Sather has New York right up against the salary cap and it will be very hard to pull off any major trades.
