Carl Hagelin beats Marc-Andre Fleury for his seventh goal.
Getty Images/John Minchillo

If you know me, I’m not a glass full kind of person. However, tonight is an exception. Sure. It’d be easy to kill our four shooters for not getting one past Marc-Andre Fleury. That’s a different story. I came away from the Rangers’ 4-3 shootout loss to the Pens more optimistic than usual. Who knows? That extra point could be a turning point.

It wasn’t the same old script. After Carl Hagelin tied it 1-1 in the second period, the Pens scored two straight to take a 3-1 lead with 13:33 left in regulation. Following Brandon Sutter’s backhand that beat Henrik Lundqvist up high, I was annoyed at the typical banter pinning blame on Mike Del Zotto. True, he was beat to the inside by Sutter but our goalie still should’ve challenged more and stopped it. It seems like there’s always a whipping boy for our fans. Del Zotto admittedly had been playing better hockey since Marc Staal’s injury. Maybe it’s time to look at the whole team.

That was my mini-rant in a tweet before our beloved Blueshirts showed some character on Rivalry Night. Just as I sat down to a late breakfast at the Golden Dove, here were the Pens celebrating Sutter’s goal. I was ticked thinking, ‘Even with them missing so many key players, they’re still going to win in regulation.’ All I wanted to see was some fight from the guys wearing the blue jerseys with red and white. After they failed on a power play, they could’ve packed it in. It would’ve been classified the norm this season. But instead, they showed some passion rallying from two goals down to force overtime.

Mats Zuccarello has the biggest heart on the team. He’s also one of the few players who’s been consistent and flourished under Alain Vigneault. The reason is because the pesky Norwegian always gives max effort and doesn’t back down from anyone. So, it was all the more appropriate that he went to the dirty area in front and got to a John Moore rebound and buried his seventh to make it a one-goal contest with 7:17 remaining. Moore, who hasn’t distinguished himself either- made a great rush out of the Ranger end carrying the puck over the Pittsburgh blueline firing a shot that Fleury mishandled. That allowed the hustling Zuccarello to finish.

Suddenly alive, the Rangers showed some desperation to their game. Something that’s been lacking. Hustle was the word of the night. A hustling Hagelin drove to the Pens’ net drawing a Matt Niskanen hi-sticking minor with 2:43 left. If you’ve watched this team, they aren’t the definition of clutch. Resiliency hasn’t exactly been synonymous with the ’13-14 Rangers. Most were expecting Lundqvist to get pulled and the Pens to score into an empty net. It never materialized. What we got instead was the second power play unit delivering a game-tying goal with 1:46 remaining. Another struggling Blueshirt Derick Brassard used his speed to get to a wide Benoit Pouliot carom firing home his sixth into an open side. Brassard showed emotion raising his arms in the air congratulated by teammates including Pouliot, who’s had a couple of strong games in a row. Zuccarello started the play picking up another point.

That it came from the same supporting cast that’s been a collective disappointment was nice to see. If they’re going to turn it around, the Rangers need that to become a daily occurrence. As for why Vigneault started Hagelin on the fourth line following his best game in weeks, I’ll leave that alone. He scored for the second straight game and drew the penalty that Brassard converted for a huge power play goal. Another rarity. What I do know is it’s refreshing to see others step up. Even if the team didn’t string together their first two-game win streak in a month.

On the first shift of OT, Chris Kunitz broke in on Lundqvist from the right wing snapping a backhand that our goalie stopped. Kunitz’ momentum carried him into Lundqvist leading to a scrum. Every Ranger came to his aid. Replays on NBC Sports Network showed that Kunitz tried to avoid Lundqvist at the last split second. But the collision was unavoidable. Trainer Jim Ramsay treated Hank for over a minute.

Benefitting from a goalie interference call, the Rangers had a perfect opportunity to send MSG home happy. However, the top unit failed to beat Fleury. Derek Stepan came close with a tricky low wrist shot forcing the Pens’ netminder to make a tough save. That it came from the perimeter was disappointing. Vignault even used his timeout to rest his top unit. They never got Rick Nash the right set up. He should’ve been in front. Not on the outside. Brad Richards also forced a shot from a bad angle that missed badly going out of the zone. By the time the second unit got on, there was precious time left.

The final half of the four on four saw our still at times shaky D leave Sidney Crosby wide open in front. One on one with Lundqvist, he was stoned by our sliding goalie who made his best save. How that happens I have no idea. For whatever reason, they still haven’t adjusted to Vigneault’s defensive system that calls for man to man coverage. They played zone under John Tortorella.

After OT settled nothing, it came down to a shootout. For 34 games, they didn’t have one. Following an emotional win over Calgary, the Rangers were in a second straight against a much better opponent. Vigneault went with the same lineup. Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma sent out Jussi Jokinen, Crosby, Kunitz, Pascal Dupuis and Sutter. For four rounds, it was a standoff between Fleury and Lundqvist. Neither budged. When Dominic Moore was stopped at the end of four, I didn’t have a good feeling. They needed to get it done earlier. Of course, Sutter was the first righty Bylsma sent out. Already having beaten him on a backhand, this time he went five-hole to send the Pens to victory.

It was a bitter way for it to end. Especially against that team. All things considered, it was a good comeback that earned a valuable point. It showed that the Rangers are capable of playing better hockey. With three games left on the home stand, they must take that with them. The next three opponents are the Islanders Friday, the Wild Sunday and the Leafs Monday. All are winnable. We’ll see if they finally get it.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-John Moore, NYR (2 assists, 3 SOG, 2 hits, +2 in 24 shifts-20:50)

2nd Star-Brandon Sutter, Pit (7th of season plus shootout winner, +1 in 20:06)

1st Star-Mats Zuccarello, NYR (7th of season, assist, +1 in 24 shifts-18:35)