Pittsburgh (AP) – Chris Letang It is known that the Pittsburgh Penguins have the oldest NHL team. The 35-year-old defenseman is one reason.
The Penguins never missed the playoffs during Letang’s 17-year career. They know what it takes to get there, even if this time it may take a little longer than usual to kick off a postseason push.
It’s going well now, and Letang is right in the middle of it.
Litang’s blast from the point 1:38 into overtime lifted Pittsburgh to a 3-2 victory over New York. notice On Sunday, he cemented his team’s hold on the first wild spot in the Eastern Conference.
Not bad for a team that looked lost after being mauled at home by Edmonton on February 23rd. The Penguins are 7-1-1 ever since.
“I think if you look at our average age, a lot of the guys have the experience and they know what they have to do to run it and make sure we go into the postseason and start feeling confident,” Letang said after his third overtime win. this season. “Everyone has a role and they have to do it to the best of their ability and I think that’s what we’re doing now.”
Jason Zucker He scored for the ninth time in eight games for Pittsburgh and Richard Raquel He added 23 to him. Tristan Gary He made 27 saves as the Penguins improved to 3-0-1 over five home games.
“I think we’re playing more than just a team game, and we’re moving (forward). Michael Granlund and defenseman Dmitry Kulikov at the trade deadline) really stirred our team and showed us and the organization that we want to win,” Gary said. “Every game we try to win and every night we try to get a couple of extra points.”
Barclay Goodrow Scored his 11th goal of the season with New York W.L.L Chris KreiderHe tied his goal midway through the third period. Yaroslav, how are you? He made 32 saves for the Rangers, including a save on the glove Alex Nylander To stop a 2-in-1 break less than a minute before it enters the system.
New York is 4-5-2 over the last 11 games to fall just behind Carolina and New Jersey in the race for the Metropolitan Division title.
“We didn’t play well, we admit it, but we still won hockey games too,” Rangers coach Gerard Gallant He said. “Tonight, we still got a point against a good team out there. We’re fighting really hard. We have to be better. We know that. I think everyone in that room knows that.”
The oldest team in the NHL certainly looked fresh despite its third game in less than 72 hours. A day after dominating a miserable Philadelphia, the Penguins dictated the pace for most of the first two periods against the Rangers, who were playing their third game in four days, all on the road.
The teams traded goals in the first period even as the Penguins were leading the game. Zucker’s 24th goal and fourth in his last four games – a long shot from the point that was going wide before being redirected by a New York skater Mika Zibanejad – as early as a second it looked like he had woken up the Rangers.
The intensity escalated instantly. Rangers Defenseman Jacob Trueba Nylander hit his shoulder in the chest at full speed. The collision brought up memories of his injury in Trouba Sidney Crosby During last year’s playoffs that forced the Penguins star to miss two games with a concussion in a series Pittsburgh would lose in overtime of Game 7.
The hit and the results that followed seemed to give the Rangers a welcome jolt and New York came to life, particularly in the third period.
The Rangers tilted the ice aggressively in their favor over the final 20 minutes, and Kreider tied the game at the end of the series that began with New York. Vincent Troshek Malkin hit behind in Rangers territory, resulting in a move that ended with Kryder alone in the hole, giving him plenty of room to hook.
Sometimes a quick play can set the table for a fun week. The penguins visit Madison Square Garden twice over the next six days.
“There’s still a lot of hockey and we need the points more from them,” said Gary. “So I think we were more desperate tonight and hopefully that continues all week.”
the next
Rangers: Washington hosts on Tuesday night.
Penguins: Their home finale on Tuesday against Montreal.
