It didn't take Evgeni Malkin all that long to get back into form. The Pittsburgh Penguins center had two goals and two assists, and rookie goalie Matt Murray made 31 saves in a 5-0 win against the New York Rangers in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Madison Square Garden on Thursday.
Pittsburgh leads the best-of-7 series 3-1 and can close it out by winning Game 5 at Consol Energy Center on Saturday.
Malkin, playing his third game since returning from an upper-body injury after missing more than a month, tied his NHL playoff high with four points. Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said he knew it was only a matter of time before Malkin got his offense back on track. He had one assist in Game 2 and one in Game 3.
Murray was playing his second NHL playoff game. He made 16 saves in a 3-1, Game 3 win here on Tuesday. Sullivan said he wasn't surprised by the performance, especially with the importance of the game.
The Rangers have lost their past five home playoff games (three shutouts) and have been outscored 18-3. Their last postseason win at MSG was Game 1 of the 2015 Eastern Conference Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning (2-1). Murray didn't need much offensive support, but got it. The Penguins scored three power-play goals on seven shots, including two by Malkin.
The Penguins scored three times in the first period. They took a 1-0 lead at 1:09 when defenseman Ben Lovejoy's shot from the right side was stopped by goalie Henrik Lundqvist, but the rebound came to Eric Fehr, who put it into the net.
They scored on a power play at 7:11 when Sidney Crosby's deflection of Malkin's shot hit off Patric Hornqvist's skate and went in to make it 2-0. Conor Sheary's wrist shot off a Rangers turnover made it 3-0 at 16:12. Malkin scored 4:00 into the second period to give the Penguins a 4-0 lead and then scored a power-play goal at 3:28 of the third for a 5-0 lead.
Lundqvist, who allowed four goals on 14 shots, was pulled in the second period after playing 26:04. Antti Raanta replaced him and made 13 saves. The Rangers trailed the Penguins 3-1 in the first round in 2014 before winning the final three games.
Pens Quotes
Evgeni Malkin: "It's so much better. Finally I started playing a little bit better and have more confidence. I think my line played not bad tonight, but I know we can play better every game."Mike Sullivan: "Geno has missed a lot of time (he was injured March 11). No matter how good you are, I think it takes some time to get back into the game mode. ... For me, Geno has gotten better with each game he's played."
"[Murray has] played in big games for us down the stretch. He has a real calm demeanor about him. I think he has a quiet confidence. He knows he is good. ... For a young guy, he is mature beyond his years."
"Our power play I thought made great decisions with the puck. Their shot selection and when to put it at the net was really good. ... All of the details of the power play that we talk about on a daily basis were evident when they were out there."
Matthew Murray: "A win is a win and it feels good, but at the same time, at this point of the season, it really doesn't matter until you get the fourth one. I'm nervous before every game. Obviously these last two, more so than usual, but I thought I did a good job of controlling that."
Other Results
Detroit @ Tampa Bay 0-1 - Bolts Win Series 4-1Alex Killorn scored with 1:43 remaining in the third period to lift the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 1-0 win against the Red Wings in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference First Round series at Amalie Arena on Thursday and send them on to the second round. Lightning goalie Ben Bishop made 34 saves for his fourth career shutout in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Tampa Bay, which won the best-of-seven series 4-1, will play the winner of the first-round series between the New York Islanders and Florida Panthers. That series is tied 2-2 and resumes Friday at BB&T Center. Killorn scored the game-winner after Tampa Bay forward Ryan Callahan dumped the puck behind the Detroit net from the left-wing wall just outside the zone. Petr Mrazek left his crease to play the puck, but Callahan skated past the Red Wings goalie, intercepted his pass intended for defenseman Jonathan Ericsson, and quickly sent it in front to Killorn, who scored on a redirection. With Mrazek pulled for the extra attacker, the Red Wings had a 6-on-4 power play for the final 43.6 seconds after Lightning defenseman Jason Garrison was called for cross-checking Henrik Zetterberg. Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk sent shots wide of the Tampa Bay net, and Bishop made a save on Luke Glendening with two seconds left. Callahan blocked Mike Green’s shot with his skate as time expired. It was Bishop who gave Killorn the chance to play hero. The Red Wings controlled play most of the night, particularly in the second period, when they outshot the Lightning 14-6 and generated their best scoring chances. Bishop made saves on breakaways by Riley Sheahan, Dylan Larkin and Darren Helm in the period, and faced numerous odd-man rushes. The game tightened up in the third period, when Detroit outshot Tampa Bay 11-10. It’s the second straight year Bishop has eliminated the Red Wings with a shutout. Last year, Tampa Bay defeated Detroit 2-0 in Game 7 of their first-round series. The Lightning penalty kill was 4-for-4 on Thursday and 24-for-25 in the series. In addition to the 6-on-4 at the end of the game, the Red Wings had a 5-on-3 for 1:14 in the first period. Mrazek made 23 saves.
Datsyuk, 37, who may not return to the NHL next season, was held without a point in the series.
“I need a little bit to cool down and for the emotion to go out, and then start thinking about more,” said Datsyuk, who told the Detroit Free Press before the playoffs that he was going to return to Russia and play in the Kontinental Hockey League next season.
Anaheim @ Nashville 4-1 - Series Tied 2-2Frederik Andersen made 30 saves, and the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Nashville Predators 4-1 at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday to tie their Western Conference First Round series. Ryan Getzlaf, Nate Thompson, Jamie McGinn and Andrew Cogliano scored for the Ducks. The road team has won each game in the best-of-7 series, which is tied 2-2. Game 5 is at Honda Center on Saturday.
The Ducks started the season 12-15-6, but then went 34-10-5 the rest of the way to go from worst to first in the Pacific Division. So, losing the first two games of this series at home wasn’t a big deal for them. After Mike Fisher tied it for Nashville at 11:26 of the second period, Anaheim scored the final three goals. Thompson gave the Ducks a 2-1 lead at 17:04 on a shot from below the right faceoff circle. Forward Rickard Rakell made a cross-ice pass to Thompson, who was able to wait out Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne and shoot it past him for his second goal of the series. McGinn put the Ducks ahead by two goals when he scored with 1:04 left in the second on a redirection from the slot. The Predators failed to get the puck out of the defensive zone, and Ducks forward Chris Stewart corralled it and passed to McGinn, who got it past Rinne for his second goal. Cogliano gave Anaheim a 4-1 lead at 16:52 of the third period. Jakob Silfverberg stole the puck from Nashville defenseman Roman Josi off a faceoff, and Cogliano one-timed the puck past Rinne for his second goal. Getzlaf gave the Ducks a 1-0 lead at 1:02 of the first period on an odd-man rush. Forward David Perron took the initial shot, and Getzlaf was able to get to the rebound and slide the puck under Rinne for his second goal. Fisher tied it 1-1 on a one-timer from the slot. Forward Colin Wilson got the puck behind the net and made a pass to Fisher, who was able to shoot it past Andersen for his first goal. Andersen has allowed one goal on 58 shots in two games. John Gibson started the first two games for Anaheim. Predators forward Craig Smith missed Game 4 with a lower-body injury and is day-to-day. Forward Colton Sissons replaced Smith in the lineup. The Predators went 0-for-6 on the power play in Game 4 and are 1-for-19 in the series.
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