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Rangers rally to beat Penguins in shootout

Dec 4, 2008 - 4:18 AM By Larry Fleisher PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

NEW YORK (Ticker) -- Petr Prucha waited nearly a month to get back into the lineup, and nobody was happier to see him score a goal than his teammates.

Prucha scored the tying goal with just under six minutes remaining in the third period and Nikolai Zherdev netted the deciding goal in the shootout as the New York Rangers rallied for a 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday.

Zherdev also scored in regulation for the Rangers, who have won four of their last five games. Markus Naslund and Fredrik Sjostrom netted the other goals in the bonus format for New York, which rebounded from Sunday's ugly 4-0 home loss to Florida.

Henrik Lundqvist made 29 saves and stopped Miroslav Satan in the shootout. He allowed a goal by defenseman Kris Letang in the second round, but when Sjostrom scored on the Rangers' third

attempt, the Swedish netminder did not have to face Penguins captain Sidney Crosby.

"It was big," Lundqvist said. "Coming out from a tough loss, you have to bounce right back. That is what you have to do if you want to stay on top. You can't afford to lose too many in a row."

Scott Gomez and defenseman Wade Redden collected two assists apiece for New York, which has won its last seven regular-season home meetings with Pittsburgh.

Defenseman Mark Eaton and Jordan Staal tallied for the Penguins, who squandered a two-goal advantage for the second time in as many visits to Madison Square Garden this season.

"We probably deserved better," Crosby said. "We had some opportunities. We couldn't put them in, and it gave them time to get back into it."

A healthy scratch for the previous 10 games and appearing in just his ninth contest of the season, Prucha made a nice hustle play for his first goal in 21 games dating to January 31.

"It's a great feeling," Prucha said. "I didn't play 10 games. I felt kind of pressure before the game and I felt pretty nervous. But I jumped in the game and had a good first shift and never looked back."

Gomez collected his 400th career assist on the play when he missed the net with a slap shot. Prucha charged toward the net and banged in the carom off the end boards, beating goaltender Dany Sabourin to the stick side.

"He deserves that goal," Gomez said. "Let's face it - he's a goal-scorer, and that's what goal-scorers do."

A 30-goal scorer as a rookie in 2005-06, Prucha had turned down New York's request to go down to the American Hockey League on a conditioning assignment. He had not played since getting into three straight games from November 1-8, and as soon as he tallied, the Rangers' bench erupted in cheers for the 26-year-old Czech.

"It's unbelievable, and everybody's so happy for him," Sjostrom said. "He's been working so hard and there's never really a complaint, so I'm really happy for him."

"He had his legs," Rangers coach Tom Renney said. "He had the drive. He's a very hungry player, and if anything, we rewarded that."

Those sentiments were felt throughout New York's locker room.

"Huge goal," Lundqvist said. "He's going to sleep well tonight, and I think everybody's happy for him. He's been working really hard, staying in shape. It's not easy. You skate every day and have to sit and watch the guys play - that's pretty tough mentally, too."

"I think if you just look at the reaction on the bench, we probably all cried," Gomez added. "For what the guy has gone through, that's a true professional. Not once has he ever complained. ... He's a great teammate. He doesn't say a word."

Zherdev also tallied after getting to the net. The Ukrainian planted himself in front of the crease and tipped in Gomez's slap shot with 9:04 remaining in the second to cut the deficit

to 2-1.

Before coming back from another two-goal deficit at home, the Rangers held Crosby and NHL scoring leader Evgeni Malkin to a total of just one assist. Crosby's only impact on the game was when his playmaking skills led to Eaton's first goal in 91 games.

That came after he engaged with Rangers enforcer Colton Orr. Orr's actions on Crosby resulted in retaliation by Pittsburgh defenseman Brooks Orpik, which gave New York a four-minute power play.

The Rangers had most of the man advantage erased when they were called for having too many men on the ice. It was shortly into the 4-on-4 that Eaton scored his first goal since April 8, 2006.

Crosby set it up by stealing the puck from defenseman Dmitri Kalinin and going behind the net. The superstar spotted Eaton in the low slot and fed him for a one-timer with 6:04 remaining in the first period.

The Penguins doubled their lead at 9:35 of the second, when defenseman Rob Scuderi's slap shot from the right point deflected off Staal and past Lundqvist.

Just 81 seconds later, the Rangers ended their scoreless drought at 108 minutes, 52 seconds.

"We've had two-goal leads both times here (this season)," Orpik said. "So those are games that you definitely want to learn how to finish."