No Kidding: Sidney Crosby is congratulated by teammates at the Pens bench after scoring in their 2-0 Game 3 win over the Rangers.
AP Photo/Kathy Willens

Sometimes, it doesn’t matter how hard you try. Whether it’s getting a girl’s number or cheering for your team as hard as possible, it won’t have any impact. The Rangers are at that breaking point again. They did what you knew they’d do. Blow a 1-0 series lead in spectacular fashion. By getting shutout on two consecutive nights by Marc-Andre Fleury. The Penguins used breakaway goals from Sidney Crosby and Jussi Jokinen to blank the Rangers 2-0 in Game 3. They now lead the series 2-1 with a do or die Game 4 Wednesday.

The question is will they figure out how to score by then. Since Derick Brassard scored at 3:06 of overtime in Game 1, the Rangers have been shutout twice by Fleury. In the last six periods, he’s stopped 57 straight shots. That included 35 tonight. Of all the endless possibilities, Fleury shutting down our side was probably about as likely as scoring a date with Kate Upton. It’s like the nerd in high school aiming high for the class princess and getting her to say yes.

It wasn’t so much that they played poorly. Astonishingly, the Rangers outshot the Penguins 35-15. In fact, following Jokinen’s goal that made it 2-0, Pittsburgh only mustered one shot over the final 24:40. You really can’t make this stuff up. A series which many figured would be high scoring has turned into an unpredictable low scoring tight checking affair. Even with the Rangers holding the Pens to six goals without an empty net, they haven’t taken advantage. Credit the faster skating Pens for keeping most of the chances to the outside. Fleury was able to see the shots and didn’t have to contest with Rangers crashing the crease.

Even a fragile goalie can gain confidence when he’s able to make the saves. The Rangers did it to themselves by not coming out with any sense of urgency Sunday. The schedule didn’t help. But you have to wonder why they were so outclassed following a day off while able to summon up the energy in a back-to-back playing for the seventh time in 10 days. That is one I’d love to know the answer to. Especially if they don’t show some mental fortitude Wednesday and send the series back to Pittsburgh even.

There are sure to be a lot of questions before Game 4. Why does Alain Vigneault insist on keeping the top line of Derek Stepan, Rick Nash and Martin St. Louis together? Even if he did temporarily try something different at the start, Vigneault went back to that line which has been MIA. It was another frustrating game for Nash, who had his best chance denied by Fleury midway through the depressing third period. St. Louis also nearly set up Stepan but his sharp angle shot was thwarted by Fleury. He stopped all nine shots in the third posting another shutout.

Another familiar theme was the power play. Despite generating better opportunities, they again were blanked going 0-for-5 to hike their miserable powerless streak to 34 straight. Unfortunately, that included a barrage of shots on Fleury with Jokinen off for holding the stick. As suggested in this space, Vigneault gave Raphael Diaz a chance in place of John Moore. Diaz fired six shots on net while attempting nine. None beat Fleury. Instead of capitalizing, they allowed Jokinen to come out of the box and beat Lundqvist for a back breaker that increased the Pens’ lead to 2-0 with 4:40 left in the second.

Following a scoreless first, Crosby finally broke through to put Pittsburgh ahead at 2:34. Sneaking behind Marc Staal, he took a Robert Bortuzzo outlet and broke in on Lundqvist beating him five-hole. Even if you can’t blame him, it wasn’t a good goal to give up. Especially with his team unable to provide any offense. Hank is usually money down low but left too much room for Crosby, who picked it apart.

Because he finally scored, all we heard during the third was about Sid The Kid. It was a Pens love fest from NBCSN and Pierre McGuire. Honestly, I’m already sick of it. If they’re not going to win the series, I just want it over so I don’t have to watch NBC anymore. I’m fed up with losing to that team. I despise them more than anyone else. Until the Pens are eliminated, I will not watch another game. The unprofessionalism on display by that network is a complete disgrace. There isn’t a more biased network ever involved covering hockey.

Pens netminder Marc-Andre Fleury makes one of his 35 saves en route to a second consecutive shutout.
AP Photo/Kathy Willens

Aside from the Crosby/Fleury shenanigans, give credit to the Pens. Defensively, they’ve done an excellent job neutralizing the Rangers. Although you see where they really miss Chris Kreider in this series. The combination of size, strength and speed really could make a difference. He also brings a net presence. Something only Mats Zuccarello is willing to do. When your bravest player is 5-6 and is one of the few who gets the jersey dirty, it speaks volumes. On one hand, you know who those guys are.

Of course, Vigneault didn’t start Brassard, Zuccarello and Benoit Pouliot after Zuccarello drew the penalty on Paul Martin with 1:58 left. That would actually require common sense. For all the adjustments he’s made including also reinserting J.T. Miller for Derek Dorsett and surprisingly dressing Jesper Fast for Daniel Carcillo, he has been way too stubborn with the top power play unit. They’re not getting it done. There was no good reason why he didn’t send the Zuccarello unit back out down two. Between that mystifying decision and his stubbornness to keep Stepan, Nash and St. Louis together, it begs the question if he sticks to his guns too long.

Right now, there’s a lot of blame to go around. I will never criticize a coach for dressing different players searching for a spark. In what little I saw, Miller looked good. So did Diaz. It wasn’t enough to make a dent on the scoreboard. The most depressing aspect was seeing how quiet MSG sounded. It was like watching a morgue. This is what James Dolan wanted. An overpriced arena that no longer attracts enough diehards. The boos were predictable and deserved.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Sidney Crosby, Pens (1st of postseason at 2:34 of 2nd for GWG)

2nd Star-Marc-Andre Fleury, Pens (35 saves incl. 16/16 in 2nd and 9/9 in 3rd-seeing everything)

1st Star-Jussi Jokinen, Pens (breakaway goal-5th, scored in 2 straight and been clutch)