Filip Chytil scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period on the power play and the New York Rangers rallied from a 2-0 second-period deficit to stave off playoff elimination with a 5-3 victory over the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night.
Jacob Trouba and Alexis Lafreniere each had a goal and an assist and Adam Fox and Ryan Lindgren also scored goals for New York, which still trails the best-of-seven first round Eastern Conference series, 3-2. Game 6 is Friday night in Pittsburgh. Vezina finalist Igor Shesterkin stopped 29 of 32 shots.
It was the first career playoff goal for Chytil, who was the 21st overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft by the Rangers.
Jake Guentzel scored two goals and Kris Letang also scored for Pittsburgh, which lost star center Sidney Crosby midway through the second period to an undisclosed injury following a hard hit to the head by Trouba. Evgeni Malkin added two assists and Louis Domingue finished with 29 saves.
Pittsburgh took a 1-0 lead midway through the first period when Guentzel backhanded in a rebound of his own shot off the skate of Shesterkin from behind the net to extend his goal-scoring streak to five games.
Letang made it 2-0 at the 7:58 mark of the second period when he one-timed a Malkin crossing pass from the left circle under Shesterkin’s blocker for his first goal of the playoffs.
But New York rallied to take a 3-2 lead later in the period scoring three goals in the span of 2:42.
Fox started the comeback with his third goal of the playoffs, snapping a shot from the top of the right circle past a Ryan Strome screen and under the crossbar. Lafreniere tied it 90 seconds later, converting a Kaapo Kakko pass from the slot for his second goal of the playoffs. Trouba then gave the Rangers the lead 72 seconds after that when he rushed the net and beat Domingue with a backhand shot from the slot.
But the Penguins answered just 13 seconds later to tie it on Guentzel’s second goal of the game off a Malkin setup.
Chytil then made it 4-3 at the 2:53 mark of the third period with a power-play goal, firing a spinning wrist shot from the bottom of the right circle past Domingue’s blocker side for what proved to be the game-winner. Lindgren sealed the win with an empty-netter with 15.5 seconds to go.
–Field Level Media