NEW YORK (AP) – Sidney Crosby scored twice and the Pittsburgh Penguins evened their first-round playoff series with the New York Rangers with a 4-3 win Saturday night.
The Rangers won Game 1 by making Crosby virtually invisible and keeping Evgeni Malkin out of the danger zone. On Saturday, both of them and the Penguins as a whole showed more jump, possessing the puck and keeping New York off-balance. Forcing turnovers in the decisive second period, shutting down the Rangers’ power play and generally controlling the pace, the Penguins got even.
Crosby, naturally, was at the center of the turnaround. He broke a 1-1 tie by knocking in a rebound of Patric Hornqvist’s shot in the second period. Then Crosby made a diving deflection past Henrik Lundqvist of a pass from Chris Kunitz on the right wing boards following a Rangers giveaway in their zone.
At that point, Crosby had four shots on goal in the series, with two going in.
Game 3 is Monday night in Pittsburgh. The Rangers had the league’s best road record this season while also winning the Presidents’ Cup for top overall record.