Marc-Andre Fleury perfect in net as Pittsburgh Penguins shutout New York Rangers 2-0 -NHL Update
New York thought that they could dominate anyone being atop the Eastern Conference with 81 points, but Marc-Andre Fleury was not intimidated one bit as he blocked all Rangers attempts as Pittsburgh Penguins got the huge shutout, 2-0, Tuesday night, February
21, 2012, at the sold-out CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Fleury blocked all 27 shots on his net to stay perfect throughout the contest and kept his team alive as the Penguins otherwise could not score in the opening and closing periods.
"We wanted to make a statement with every shift, every period we play against them," Pittsburgh Penguins head coach, Dan Bylsma, said.
Evgeni Malkin got the first of the night in the opening minutes of the second period as he diverted the New York defenseman and backhanded the puck through veteran Rangers’ goalie, Henrik Lundqvist, for his 33rd of the 2011-2012 National Hockey
League (NHL) regular season.
Steve Sullivan followed it up with what would be the last of the contest a little over midway through the period on the power play opportunity with Marc Staal out for a minor penalty.
"I think that was our first complete 60-minute game in a long time," said Pittsburgh forward Steve Sullivan. "We got something from everybody."
Despite the numerous opportunities New York had on the Pittsburgh net, the Penguins goalie was just too much to handle for them.
"We ended up with some good chances tonight, we just couldn't finish," New York Rangers coach, John Tortorella, said. "Their goalie played well."
Tortorella was also asked about whether his team would be acquiring Columbus Blue Jackets forward, Rick Nash, before the February 27 deadline, but the coach averted speaking on the topics and termed it a wait and see situation.
Pittsburgh has been up and down in the past few games but still have the sixth number spot in the East under their hold. Penguins will definitely be focusing on moving up in the rankings as they host Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday.
New York on the other hand does not have much to worry about and will most probably be having a good time against New York Islanders on Friday.
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