Jokinen Gets Last Laugh: Pens forward Jussi Jokinen celebrates a power play goal with teammates which made it 2-0. Pittsburgh took Game 2 over the listless Blueshirts 3-0 to even the series.
AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

Everyone knew the schedule would present a challenge for the Rangers. They just weren’t up to it tonight. After taking Game 1, they were listless in falling to the Penguins 3-0 at Console Energy Center. The best of seven Eastern Conference Semifinal shifts to Madison Square Garden for an all important Game 3 tomorrow. Lose it and the Rangers risk losing everything.

How bad were they? On a scale of 1-10, they were about a 2. It was brutal. The Pens did whatever they wanted even if that meant taking bad penalties. They handed the Rangers the first three power plays. But as usual, they failed miserably mustering just two shots. It was deplorable. Instead of gaining any momentum, they allowed Pittsburgh to run around and deliver hits legal or illegal. It didn’t matter. Their physical play and desperation set the tone. They outhit the Rangers 20-10 early on and never relented.

It wasn’t just about finding a way to beat Henrik Lundqvist. Impenetrable, the former Vezina winner played a monster game. His brilliance cannot be overstated. Without him, this could easily have been 7-0 Pens. Lundqvist gave the Blueshirts every opportunity to get back in it. After a scoreless first period, he was under siege. With his teammates struggling to complete simple passes and turning pucks over, he absolutely stoned a swarm of Penguins intent on doing physical damage. They crashed his crease and did not pay a price.

To be perfectly blunt, the Rangers performance was gutless. Only a few players donning the white jerseys showed up. When your best forward is Daniel Carcillo, something’s wrong. He was the only player up front who played with any purpose even getting the few scoring chances on Marc-Andre Fleury. Fleury could’ve been on a beach. That’s how easy the 22 save shutout was. He never faced any pressure. The Blueshirts were one and done. They never made a fragile goalie work. Now, he has confidence when the series shifts to New York City.

After somehow escaping the first on even terms, the Rangers stopped skating. They watched a faster and more determined Pittsburgh attack possess the puck and fire repeatedly at Lundqvist. Even when they had a 7-4 shots edge, it was misleading. Eventually, it turned around with the Pens getting 12 of the last 15 shots to outshoot a lethargic opponent 16-10. Amazingly, they only scored once. Even in a game where Sidney Crosby was flying, the Pens captain couldn’t get one by Lundqvist. He had a game high six shots with the majority dangerous chances that a mere mortal would’ve caved in on.

It was Crosby’s teammates who gave a strong showing. Coach Dan Bylsma went with Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on the same line with Chris Kunitz. That resulted in a large territorial edge. They owned the puck. So pinned in were the Rangers that they simply gave the attacking Pens too much space. They pinched their defensemen at every opportunity. It finally paid dividends when Kunitz and Malkin combined to set up Kris Letang, whose shot went off a sliding Dan Girardi past Lundqvist at 10:26 of the second. Mats Zuccarello took a chance and lost in the neutral zone. Going for a big hit on Malkin, he missed allowing the Pens other superstar to gain the zone. With Kunitz driving the net, a late recovering Girardi had the puck deflect off his skate and in.

In simple terms, Girardi and ailing partner Ryan McDonagh struggled mightily. There was another play where Girardi made a bad read at the conclusion of another Rangers power outage. That allowed Kunitz to steal the puck and break in on Lundqvist, who aggressively challenged and blockered away the dangerous chance. The Rangers power play failed in four chances. Even though they generated a little more on the final one, it wasn’t enough. At one point, it was 3-for-8. Having failed in their last 29, they’re now a miserable 3-for-37. There are no words. Alain Vigneault tried Marc Staal and Anton Stralman. That pair has been by far their best so far. Maybe he should switch them on Crosby. Compared with McDonagh and Girardi, they’re giving up far less.

Despite a heroic effort from Lundqvist who kept Pittsburgh at 1 for most of the third, the Rangers simply didn’t take advantage. They only got five shots on Fleury. Playing for the sixth time in nine days, they didn’t have their skating legs. If they looked exhausted tonight, what’s going to happen in 24 hours? Somehow, they have to summon up the energy. If they can’t do it, this series could go in the opposite direction pretty quickly. At least they’ll have the home crowd at MSG. Even if it’s not close to what it used to be, you know they’ll ramp it up. The players must respond. Defend home ice and they can put themselves in a winning position.

Derek Dorsett took one of those misguided penalties that won’t win him any new fans. Inexplicably, he hit pest James Neal after the whistle. Neal is my most despised Pen because he always pulls stuff. Like his pulling Girardi’s stick to draw a minor and his repeated goalie shenanigans with Lundqvist. Something the Pens did a lot of. If they can get away with it, why not? It’s not like any Ranger is going to do something about it.

Able to kill the first six Pittsburgh power plays in the series, the Rangers couldn’t quite make it a perfect seven. Instead, they got beat in transition allowing Jussi Jokinen to rebound home a Neal shot that made it 2-0 with 3:30 left in regulation. Letang, who had a very active game, started it on a rush dropping to Neal. His low shot was one of the few Lundqvist mishandled which permitted Jokinen to snipe one top shelf for his fourth of the postseason. For good measure, Malkin added an empty netter in the final minute.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Evgeni Malkin, PIT (4th of postseason ENG, assist, 5 SOG, 4 takeaways, +2 in 21:30-very dangerous)

2nd Star-Kris Letang, PIT (goal-2nd of postseason at 10:26 of 2nd GWG, 2 assists, 2 hits, 2 blocked shots, +2 in 25:35)

1st Star-Henrik Lundqvist, NYR (32 saves on 34 shots incl. 15/16 in busy 2nd)