NHL - Playoffs - Pittsburgh Penguins @ NY Rangers 3-1 - Tue, Apr 19, 2016 - Game 3 - Oh Yeah Baby, Part 5!!

Rookie goalie Matt Murray made 16 saves in his first Stanley Cup Playoff start, and Matt Cullen scored 4:16 into the third period to give the Pittsburgh Penguins a 3-1 win against the New York Rangers in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference First Round series at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday. Murray's win came less than a week after teammate Jeff Zatkoff won his playoff debut in Game 1. The Penguins became the first team in NHL history to have multiple goaltenders win their playoff debuts in the same series. The Penguins took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series. Game 4 is in New York on Thursday.
Cullen capitalized on a fortuitous bounce early in the third period after Rangers defenseman Dan Boyle lost the puck and collided with teammate Keith Yandle at the blue line. Cullen retrieved it and broke in alone to beat Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist between the legs and give Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead at 4:16 of the period.
Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang scored for Pittsburgh, and Murray made 16 saves in his first appearance since sustaining an upper-body injury on April 9. Murray won his eighth straight game dating back to the regular season, when he was 4-0-0 with a 1.84 goals-against average and .936 save percentage in five appearances following a concussion sustained by starter Marc-Andre Fleury.
Lundqvist made 28 saves for the Rangers, and defenseman Ryan McDonagh played a team-high 22:48 after missing five games with a hand injury.
The Rangers trail the series because their offense generated 17 shots on goal (four in the third period), failing to generate any pressure after Rick Nash's shorthanded goal gave them a 1-0 lead.
The Rangers appeared to take a 1-0 lead on Chris Kreider's power-play goal at 12:56 of the first period. The goal was overturned following a coach's challenge by Sullivan when video review determined that Rangers forward J.T. Miller was offside receiving a pass from defenseman Brady Skjei. The Rangers failed to capitalize on the remaining 3:27 of a double-minor to Conor Sheary.
Nash opened the scoring when defenseman Kevin Klein's stretch pass led him into an open area beyond the red line. Nash skated alone down the left side and beat Murray over his left shoulder 39 seconds into the second. The goal ended the Rangers' postseason home-scoring drought at 166:22; they were shut out by the Tampa Bay Lightning in Games 5 and 7 of the Eastern Conference Final last year.
The Penguins seized momentum when Crosby tied the game 1-1 at 19:18 of the second after Marc Staal went off for hooking. Evgeni Malkin, playing in his second game after missing a month with an upper-body injury, found an open Phil Kessel, who completed a tic-tac-toe sequence with a pass that deflected off Crosby's stick and past Lundqvist. Including Pittsburgh's three playoff games, Crosby has at least one point in 22 of his past 24, and 13 goals and 33 points since Feb. 29. He has at least a point in 13 of his past 15 at Madison Square Garden. Letang scored an empty-net goal with 13 seconds remaining.

Typical Dirty New York

Pens Quotes

Mike Sullivan: "I thought he was real solid. He's got a real calm demeanor in there. I think he reads plays well. He was tracking the puck. When he needed to make the timely saves for us, he did."
"It goes back to playing the game the right way. I thought we did a real good job of puck management. I thought our guys defended hard and part of that is blocking shots and making sure that we protect the scoring area. Stick detail was really good as far as just getting sticks on pucks and making it hard for them to generate some offense. For me that's playoff hockey. When the time is called for to have to defend … we have to make sure that we make the commitment and we defend when those times call for. I thought our guys were doing that."
"I don't know if it was a turning point but certainly it gives our team a boost to know they don't score. With that rule, the League is trying to get those calls right because you can see the impact they have on the outcome of games, and that was one of them. Fortunately for us it went our way and I thought our guys responded the right way."Matt Cullen: "I thought the puck was bouncing a lot tonight. That one just kind of went just in the perfect spot. It was a tough one for them to handle and I was just fortunate to be in the right spot and able to poke it by."

Sidney Crosby: "It was a great pass. I didn't think [Kessel] could get it through I had my stick on the ice and I don't know how he got it through. It just found a way to hit my stick and go in. He's dangerous with his shot so I think you're kind of in between trying to look for a rebound and he can also make those plays sometimes. On that goal I didn't think he can get it through but he found a way. I think that says a lot about his passing ability."

Other Results

Tampa Bay @ Detroit 3-2 - Bolts Lead Series 3-1
Ondrej Palat scored a power-play goal with 2:59 left in the third period to give the Tampa Bay Lightning a 3-2 win against the Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena on Tuesday. Tampa Bay leads the best-of-7 Eastern Conference First Round series 3-1. Game 5 is Thursday at Amalie Arena in Tampa. Nikita Kucherov scored two power-play goals for Tampa Bay, Jonathan Drouin had three assists, and Ben Bishop made 31 saves. Darren Helm and Gustav Nyquist scored for Detroit. Petr Mrazek made 25 saves. Palat tipped in Drouin's pass for his first goal of the series with Jonathan Ericsson in the penalty box for crosschecking. Detroit's Dylan Larkin hit the post from in front with 7:23 left in the third period and the game tied 2-2. The Red Wings scored twice in the final six minutes of the second period. Helm made it 2-1 with 5:07 left when he put in a loose puck from the crease. It was his first goal of the series. Nyquist tied it with 10 seconds left. He one-timed a shot past Bishop from below the right circle off a pass from Riley Sheahan. It was Nyquist's first goal of the playoffs and fourth goal in 34 Stanley Cup Playoff games. Kucherov's power-play goal 5:41 into the first period gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead. He beat Mrazek on the short side with a one-timer from the right faceoff dot after a pass from Tyler Johnson. The goal came nine seconds after Justin Abdelkader went off for holding. Kucherov's second power-play goal made it 2-0 with 9:29 left. He put in a one-time shot from the slot. It was Kucherov's fifth goal of the series. The Lightning had 14 shots in the first period after 16 in all of Game 3, a 2-0 loss on Sunday. Tampa Bay was 3-for-5 on the power play Tuesday. Tampa Bay used 11 forwards and seven defensemen; defenseman Matt Taormina replaced forward Erik Condra in the lineup.
Anaheim @ Nashville 3-0 - Preds Lead Series 2-1
Frederik Andersen made 27 saves in his 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs debut, and the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Nashville Predators 3-0 in Game 3 of their Western Conference First Round series at Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday.
Andersen has a 15-7 career record in the playoffs after his second postseason shutout. He started Game 3 after the Predators won the first two games at Honda Center with John Gibson in goal for the Ducks. The Predators lead the best-of-7 series 2-1. Game 4 is Thursday in Nashville. Jamie McGinn gave the Ducks a 1-0 lead at 10:05 of the first period, beating Pekka Rinne with a one-timer from the right circle. Predators defenseman Anthony Bitetto committed a turnover at the blue line to start the play. Chris Stewart controlled the puck and found Shawn Horcoff, who fed a wide-open McGinn. Horcoff made his first appearance of the series, replacing Chris Wagner. Rickard Rakell gave the Ducks a 2-0 lead at 11:33 of the second period on a redirection from the right circle. Defenseman Sami Vatanen made a hard pass from the point that Rakell redirected on the backhand through his legs past Rinne for his first goal. Stewart made it 3-0 at 17:06, beating Rinne from the slot on a rebound. Center Ryan Getzlaf fed Stewart, whose original shot was stopped by Rinne. But Stewart was able to get to the rebound and backhand the puck past Rinne for his first goal. Before the game, Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said he wanted to see a better defensive effort from his team. He was happy with the response.
Predators forward Craig Smith took two shifts in the first period and did not return. The Predators said Smith had a lower-body injury. Coach Peter Laviolette said losing Smith so early in the game caused some disruption up front. Nashville went 0-for-5 on the power play, managing seven shots on goal.