After suffering a devastating defeat in triple overtime on Tuesday night, the Rangers are gearing up for Game 2 against the Penguins on Thursday.
Pittsburgh beat the Blue Shirts in the first game of the playoffs for both teams, and left Ranger fans devastated as they exited Madison Square Garden following 3 overtime periods.
“It’s one of those games and obviously three overtime periods, it’s tough to lose like that, but you get back on the horse and get ready for the next game,” said Rangers’ head coach Gerard Gallant.
The 4–3 loss on Tuesday made Thursday’s game particularly important for the Rangers, as they will head to Pittsburgh for games 3 and 4. The Rangers have played better in Midtown this season than they have been on the road, and a 2–0 deficit would be a deep hole to dig out of.
Game 1 ended when Pittsburgh dug the puck out from behind the Rangers’ net and eventually moved the puck out to the point for John Marino.
Rangers Starter Igor Shesterkin gave up a shot to Evgeni Malkin, who had launched a shot from near the Blue Line with 14 minutes to go in the third overtime.
EVGENI MALKIN FOR THE WIN IN TRIPLE OVERTIME!!! 🤑 #StanleyCup
Cc: @penguins pic.twitter.com/ms7ZpRSX1N
— NHL (@NHL) May 4, 2022
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Among the biggest obvious flaws for the Blue Shirts, their NHL-best goalie Igor Shesterkin made a whopping 79 saves during the game, which means that he “saved the Rangers 4.5 goals less than expected,” according to Deadspin.
The Rangers entered the Stanley Cup Playoffs as the second seeded team in the Metropolitan Division, which pit them against Pittsburgh, the third-best team in the division.
The Blue Shirts had beaten Pittsburg 3 out of 4 matchups during the NHL regular season.
The Rangers were favorites to match up the series before the series began, but a crucial first loss may tip the scales in favor of the Penguins.
Tuesday’s game was the first time the Rangers saw a triple-overtime game in a playoff game.
“I thought we battled hard, we did a lot of good things. Obviously, in triple overtime anything can happen,” Ryan Strome said after the game. “They got the first one, but I think we’re pretty confident going into game 2. It will be a fun one.”
Now, both teams will head into an all-important Game 2 in MSG, with a 7 p.m. puck drop at center ice.
