National Hockey League
Pittsburgh 3, NY Rangers 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Tuesday, December 20, 2022
Where: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Referees: Peter MacDougall, Wes McCauley
Linesmen: Shandor Alphonso, Brad Kovachik
Attendance: 18005

Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist Tuesday as the Pittsburgh Penguins halted the visiting New York Rangers' win streak at seven with a 3-2 win.

It was a rematch from the first round of the 2022 playoffs, when the Rangers advanced with a Game 7 overtime win.

Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust also scored for the Penguins, who have won eight of nine.

Pittsburgh goaltender Tristan Jarry made 26 saves and has won seven straight starts.

Chris Kreider had two goals and Vincent Trochek added two assists for the Rangers.

New York goaltender Igor Shesterkin made 21 saves in his first regulation road loss (9-1-1).

Pittsburgh got a strong scoring chance right after the opening faceoff, but Shesterkin made a skate save on Rickard Rakell.

The Rangers immediately raced the other way and scored off the rush. From the far side of the left circle, Kreider let loose a shot. The puck went off Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson, who was tying up Trocheck, and over Jarry's left shoulder for a 1-0 lead 22 seconds into regulation.

Malkin scored a significant goal at 14:24 of the second, and only partly because it produced a 1-1 tie. From the top of the left circle on a power play, he let go a shot that went between the skates of Rakell, who was screening in front. That gave the Penguins at least one power-play goal in nine straight games.

The goal also gave Malkin a nine-game point streak (three goals, 13 points), and put him at 1,179 career points, tying him with one of his idols, Sergei Federov, for second-most NHL points by a Russian-born player.

With 12.7 seconds left in the second, Rust gave Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead with another power-play goal. In front, he deflected Pierre-Olivier Joseph's shot from the left point past Shesterkin.

Crosby increased it to 3-1 at 8:40 of the third when he took a pass from Jake Guentzel and finished off a two-on-one.

The Rangers closed it to 3-2 just 1:23 later when Trocheck wove down the right side and set up Kreider in front.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
NY Rangers   Pittsburgh
Chris Kreider 2 Points Sidney Crosby 2
Chris Kreider 2 Goals Sidney Crosby 1
Vincent Trocheck 2 Assists Sidney Crosby 1
N/A Power Play Goals Evgeni Malkin 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Igor Shesterkin .875 Save Percentage Tristan Jarry .929
Igor Shesterkin 21 Saves Tristan Jarry 26
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
NY Rangers 28 2 0-3 1-3 6 25
Pittsburgh 24 3 2-3 3-3 6 32
Upcoming Games
  • Pittsburgh will play their next game at home against Carolina. The Penguins have a W/L % of .737 after a win and .385 after a loss.
  • NY Rangers will play their next game at home against NY Islanders. The Rangers have a W/L % of .556 after a win and .500 after a loss.