This post will be short.
After all, I could just dig out my post from earlier in the season when the Penguins rolled into Madison Square Garden for a game on the road against the Rangers and built a 2-0 lead but couldn't hold it thanks to a late tying goal and a subsequent shootout loss clinched by New York forward Frederick Sjodstrom.
That's exactly the way things played out last night. Mark Eaton (yes ... Eaton) scored to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead in the first period, and Jordan Staal added one in the second to up the lead to 2-0 in the second period.
Nikolai Zherdev finally got the Rangers on the board later in the second period, but the score stood that way until about 4 minutes left when a guy who the Rangers had scratched in 10 straight games for ineffetive play -- Petr Prucha -- scored the tying goal after taking a hard rebound off the back boards and depositing it behind a slow-reacting Dany Sabourin to to tie the game.
After a scoreless overtime, Sabourin was still in slow-reacting mode, allowing all 3 Ranger shooters to beat him. Naslund beat him to the backhand, while Zherdev and Sjodstrom made him look like a plyon by scoring on the opposite side with ease.
Miroslav Satan -- fairly good in his career in shootouts -- had his attempt completely swallowed up by Rangers all-star goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. He's now 0-for-4 with the Penguins on such attempts. Kris Letang did beat Lundqvist with a top corner laser shot, but once Sjodstrom scored, Crosby didn't even get the chance to shoot.
When is someone going to go five hole on Lundqvist in these things? Even though he's extremely good along the ice, you have to make a wide deke to get him to open up a little but change up and just redirect the puck through his legs in the middle of the deke. Basic backhand or forehand moves won't fool him. He stays with the puck too well.
The Penguins played a relatively solid game last night against the Rangers (again), but couldn't finish the job (again). They had chances in the 3rd period to go up by 2 goals (especially around the net); they just didn't finish and it came back to haunt them.
With the frustrating shootout loss, the Penguins slipped to 6 points behind the Rangers. They still have 4 games in hand.
The Penguins also lost a couple players to injury last night -- Mike Zigomanis and Tyler Kennedy. I didn't see what happened to either, but it seems like Zigomanis hurt his shoulder or arm. On the bright side, he said that he would "probably" play tonight when the Penguins are back in action against Carolina. Kennedy has been described as "day-to-day". If the Penguins make a recall today, that's how we'll know he's out for the game against the Hurricanes. Hopefully either aren't gone for an extended period because both have been decent contributors for the flightless birds this season so far.
Penguins/Canes recap tomorrow.
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