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PITTSBURGH -- The best line on hockeys busiest team hardly looked gassed. Cheap Jerseys From China . The way Derick Brassard and Benoit Pouliot were furiously pouring in overtime goals, the New York Rangers didnt exactly look like a group in need of a day off. Brassard beat Marc-Andre Fleury 3:06 into overtime -- with Pouliot bizarrely doing the same seven seconds later -- and the Rangers stunned the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference secound round Friday night. The winner officially went to Brassard, whose wrist shot from in front beat Fleury cleanly but caromed back onto the ice. Referee Steve Kozari waved it off, however, and play continued before Pouliot slammed the puck into a wide open net moments later for good measure. "I found out way later (Brassard) got the goal," Pouliot said. "Good for him. Weve been playing well against Philly and now tonight. We deserved that." Pouliot and Brad Richards gave the Rangers an early 2-0 lead. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 34 shots and stuffed a late Pittsburgh breakaway in the final seconds of regulation. The line of Pouliot, Brassard and Mats Zuccarello combined for 14 points in New Yorks four regular-season meetings with the Penguins. They were the best trio on the ice on a team barely 48 hours removed from a wearying seven-game victory over Philadelphia in the opening round. "Since Christmas theyve probably been our most consistent line," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "Theyve got real good chemistry. They read off one another and support one another well and ... they scored two in overtime." Lee Stempniak and James Neal scored for the Penguins. Fleury made 24 saves but was helpless on the winner. "It was just a big pile of guys and I was trying to find the puck out of it," Fleury said. Pittsburgh star Sidney Crosby was held without a goal for the 12th straight playoff game as the Rangers took away much of the open ice where Crosby likes to operate. "It couldve went either way," Crosby said. "I dont think we played a full 60 (minutes)." Not exactly. The Rangers were supposed to be exhausted after outlasting the Flyers in the opening round, not advancing until a 2-1 victory in Game 7 on Wednesday night. Instead, it was the well-rested Penguins who appeared to need a nap. Pouliot gave New York the lead 5:04 into first period, capitalizing on a Pittsburgh turnover then splitting Penguins defenceman Olli Maatta and Matt Niskanen before firing a wrist shot that caromed off Fleurys right arm and into the net. Richards doubled the lead late in the period with his third and easiest goal of the post-season. Carl Hagelin beat Maatta to a puck in the corner and fed it to Richards, who had enough time in front to go from his backhand to his forehand and flip the puck by an overmatched Fleury. Whatever sluggishness the Penguins felt after a three-day layoff vanished in the second. Stempniak cut the lead in half by taking a nice drop pass from Beau Bennett then streaking down the middle and beating Lundqvist with a backhand 7:15 into the period. Neal tied it just over 6 minutes later thanks to a rare mistake by Lundqvist, who deflected Neals into the air then had it glance off his back and into the net. Lundqvist pleaded with officials that Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin had interfered with him while trying to make the save, but replays showed Malkins high-stick swat didnt come close to touching the puck. New York gathered itself before the third and the teams traded chances over the final 20 minutes of regulation with Lundqvist stopping a slap shot from Stempniak in the final 15 seconds to send it to overtime. Whatever adrenaline the Rangers had left fueled them during the brief extra period. New York dominated play before the madcap finish to beat the Penguins in Game 1 of a post-season series for the first time. The Penguins came in 4-0 in the playoff series against New York. Now the Rangers find themselves in control with a welcome day off before Sundays rematch. "Yeah we played seven games and the seventh one was a grueling match but I think most of us have been through it," Pouliot said. "Its the NHL and you have to find a way and we did." NOTES: New York went 0 for 4 on the power play and is 0 for its last 25 with the man advantage. ... The Rangers held out F Chris Kreider once again. Kreider wore a non-contact jersey during Friday mornings skate and his return from a hand injury remains uncertain. ... Penguins D Brooks Orpik missed his third straight game with an undisclosed injury. Cheap Jerseys . The Browns have relaxed their media limitations to see rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel practice. Wholesale NFL Jerseys . -- Kyle Blanks homered in his home debut at the Coliseum and Derek Norris capped Oaklands five-homer day with a grand slam and the Athletics snapped a season-long four-game losing streak with a 10-0 win over the Detroit Tigers on Monday.NEWARK, N.J. -- Phoenix captain Shane Doan started laughing when asked if the Coyotes suddenly had a goalie controversy. "Goalie controversies are always good because that means they are both playing well," Doan said after the Coyotes defeated the New Jersey Devils 3-2 in a shootout Thursday night to improve their playoff chances in the Western Conference. The Coyotes, who currently hold the second wild-card spot, got five of six possible points on their three-game road trip and opened a five-point lead over idle Dallas. What made this trip so special was that No. 1 goalie Mike Smith went down with a lower-body injury late in the third period of the opener against the Rangers, but replacement Thomas Greiss posted wins over Pittsburgh and New Jersey. Phoenixs only loss on the road trip was in overtime to the Rangers. "We have a ton of confidence in Greisser," Doan said. "Everybody in here has been shooting on him all year and when he has gone in, he has been amazing. I dont know what his save percentage is, but its .925 or .930. He has been amazing for us." Greiss made 26 saves and stopped shootout attempts by Damien Brunner, Ryane Clowe and Patrik Elias in matching his career high with his ninth win (9-5-2) of the season. The trip did not start out well for Greiss. He gave up the tying goal late and the winner in overtime to the Rangers. But that didnt bother the 28-year-old German, who was backed up by Smith on Thursday. "Thats the goalies job, to have a short memory," Greiss said. "You just have to forget that stuff and move on." Mikkel Boedker scored on Phoenixs first shootout try against Martin Brodeur with a top-shelf backhander. "I went with a move I was comfortable with and its always good when the goaltender bites on your fake," Boedker said. Kyle Chipchura and Chris Summers scored for the Coyotes, who blew a 2-0 lead. Clowe and Adam Henrique scored for the Devils, who fell to 0-9 in shootouts this season and extended their NHL-record streak to 13 straight losses dating to last season. While the Devils picked up a point, they are currently out of the playoff picture with nine gaames to go. Cheap NFL Jerseys. "Its a big part of the reason the playoffs are getting tougher and tougher to reach," said Brodeur, who finished with 25 saves. "So many points weve left on the table through the year. I figured we were due. Its been a while, we havent been in one. I was feeling good about it mentally. I thought we were going to pull through this one and boost our confidence a little bit knowing were able to do it, and again it was the same old thing." New Jersey appeared to be in trouble when Summers scored with 3:03 left in the second period to give the Coyotes a 2-0 lead. The Devils got back in the game with a little luck after Phoenix was called for a delay penalty in the final minute of the period. Brodeur scrambled to the bench and Clowe scored with less than a second left as he lay in the crease. The big left wing was cross-checked by Jeff Halpern, and defenceman Jon Merrills pass through the crease caromed off his chest and slid past Greiss, who had stopped the Devils first 16 shots with their sticks. Henrique tied the game midway through the third period, taking a pass from Elias and beating defenceman Michael Stone with a move behind the net for his team-leading 24th goal. Chipchura, who had a goal and an assist against the Rangers on Monday night in Madison Square Garden, scored his fourth of the season 2:21 into the first period. Lauri Korpikoski sent a pass from behind the net to Chipchura, who put a shot under Brodeurs pad. Summers, called up from the minors this month, made it 2-0 with a slap shot that beat a screened Brodeur. NOTES: Brodeur picked up his third assist of the season and the 45th of his career on Henriques goal. ... Korpikoski missed the previous two games with an upper-body injury. ... Devils captain Bryce Salvador was out with a lower-body injury. ... The Coyotes beat the Devils 3-2 in Phoenix in January. ... Coyotes D Connor Murphy, recalled from Portland (AHL) on Wednesday, was in the lineup. ... Merrill has a goal and two assists in his last two games. The rookie had a goal and six assists in his first 44 this season. ... Coyotes RW David Moss left in the second period with a lower-body injury. cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
