NY Rangers at PIT Penguins (May 04, 2008)
2008-05-04 04:24:00
PA SPORTSTICKER NHL PLAYOFF PREVIEW
(NY RANGERS-PITTSBURGH)
*Penguins looking to eliminate pesky Rangers*
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Ny Rangers at Pittsburgh 2:00 pm EDT
Eastern Conference semifinals Penguins lead, 3-1
PITTSBURGH (Ticker) - Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby brought
the Pittsburgh Penguins to within one win of the Eastern
Conference finals. But for the first time this postseason, both
of the young superstars looked frustrated.
The All-Star centers will attempt to shake off the frustration
as the Penguins try to eliminate the Atlantic Division rival New
York Rangers on Sunday in Game Five of their conference
semifinal series.
Henrik Lundqvist stopped all 29 shots he faced and Jaromir Jagr
scored two goals and set up another Thursday as the fifth-seeded
Rangers staved off elimination and handed the Penguins their
first loss of the postseason with a 3-0 triumph in Game Four.
"We got one more game, and that was our goal," Jagr said. "We
have a chance at one more game. It's up to us how we are going
to handle the next game. We know we're in a tough situation.
... Maybe it's happening for a reason, to be down 3-0, you never
know. That's why we should just play and see what happens."
Rookie Brandon Dubinsky added a goal and an assist Thursday for
New York, which still trails three games to one in the
best-of-seven series.
"We had to leave it all out there," Dubinsky said. "Obviously,
they had a chance to close the series out. You don't want to be
done, not win the hockey game and say I had a little bit of gas
left in my tank. I think the guys poured their hearts into it
and emptied those tanks tonight and found a way to win."
Throughout Thursday's contest, the Rangers agitated both Malkin
and Crosby, who have combined for seven goals and 25 points
during the playoffs. Both superstars were involved in multiple
scuffles in the loss.
"It's tough hockey, none of us expected it to be easy," Crosby
said. "That part of the fun and part of the challenge of
playoff hockey.
New York still has a tough task ahead of it. Only two teams
have overcome a three-games-to-none deficit in the Stanley Cup
playoffs - the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, who accomplished the
feat against Detroit in the Finals, and the 1975 New York
Islanders in the quarterfinals - against the Penguins.
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