PITTSBURGH (AP) – Brandon Sutter scored in the fourth round of the shootout, after the Rangers thought they had won it, and Pittsburgh escaped with a 3-2 victory over New York on Saturday night.
Dan Boyle appeared to win it for the Rangers in the third round, but his goal was then disallowed after a video review showed he hit the puck a second time on a rebound.
After both teams returned to the ice from the dressing rooms, Sutter beat Henrik Lundqvist with a wrist shot. Pittsburgh’s Marc-Andre Fleury then stopped Rick Nash – tied for the NHL lead with 12 goals – to end the game for good.
Sidney Crosby failed to record a point in his fifth straight game against New York, but scored in the shootout. Derek Stepan had the lone shootout goal for the Rangers.
Evgeni Malkin scored his seventh goal, and Blake Comeau added his fourth in regulation for Pittsburgh, which has won nine of 10. The Penguins beat the Rangers five days after losing 5-0 in New York in their worst loss of the season.
Fleury stopped 29 shots to defeat the Rangers for the first time in five games.
Martin St. Louis and Lee Stempniak had goals for New York. Nash played in his 800th career game and recorded his 100th point with the Rangers, who have lost the past two games in shootouts.
Lundqvist made 36 saves, but couldn’t earn his fifth straight win against the Penguins. Lundqvist won the previous four, including the final three of last season’s second-round playoff series, helping the Rangers rally from a 3-1 series deficit.
Lundqvist stopped two breakaways in overtime. The first came against Crosby, a blocker save 20 seconds in. He turned aside Kris Letang in the final 5 seconds.
The Rangers went on a 4-on-3 power play with 1:42 remaining when Rob Scuderi tripped Chris Kreider.
The teams were tied at 2 after two periods.
Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi left with 6:13 remaining in the third period after a check by Malkin behind the net. He returned in overtime.
The Rangers, after their lopsided win against Pittsburgh, have lost six of eight – four of the losses in shootouts.
The teams struck 15 seconds apart in the first period, Comeau opening the scoring at 14:12 that caromed in off Lundqvist’s arm. Stempniak answered when he put a bouncing rebound of Girardi’s point shot past Fleury.
The Rangers took the lead less than two minutes later on St. Louis’ power-play goal.
Malkin tied it at 8:09 of the second, a play that started when Nick Spaling intercepted an outlet pass in the Rangers zone. Malkin’s one-timer bounced in off Lundqvist.
NOTES: St. Louis has seven points in seven games. … The Penguins wore their third jersey for a second time, a throwback to the black and yellow-gold color scheme from when they won their first two Stanley Cup titles in 1991 and 1992. … Penguins D Olli Maatta is practicing, but was scratched after having a cancerous tumor removed from his neck.
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