Jokinen lifts Pens over Rangers
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Penguins grabbed Jussi Jokinen from Carolina at the trade deadline, hopeful that the smooth skating forward could fill in while superstar Sidney Crosby recovers from a broken jaw.
Jokinen certainly borrowed a page from Crosby’s flair for the dramatic in his Penguins debut, scoring in regulation and then adding the only tally in the shootout as Pittsburgh edged the New York Rangers 2-1 on Friday night.
“When you come here you always want to make a good first impression,” Jokinen said. “I made a huge one.”
Jokinen beat Henrik Lundqvist with a wrist shot 32 seconds into the third period, and then one of the NHL’s top shootout specialists slipped a wrister over the New York goalie in the first round of the tiebreaker as the Penguins snapped out of a two-game funk that came on the heels of a 15-game winning streak.
“We needed two goals to win, one in regular time and one in the shootout, and he got both of those,” Pittsburgh forward Pascal Dupuis said. “It’s great for our team, great for his confidence. He probably feels at home right now.”
Having Marc-Andre Fleury in top form certainly helped. The Pittsburgh goalie stopped 34 shots and then stoned Rick Nash, Mats Zuccarello and Ryan Callahan in the shootout as the Eastern Conference’s top team bounced back from a 6-1 loss to New York on Wednesday.
Fleury allowed every one of the New York goals in Pittsburgh’s worst loss of the season. If it bothered him, it didn’t show. He was spectacular at times to prevent the Rangers from sweeping the home-and-home series.
“I thought we played really well, really well,” Rangers coach John Tortorella said. “Fleury was the difference.”
Nash’s 14th goal tied it with 4:49 remaining and New York grabbed a crucial point as it vies for a playoff spot. The Rangers moved into seventh place in the tight Eastern Conference playoff race and pushed the Atlantic Division-leading Penguins to the limit in a game that had a postseason feel.
The chippiness bubbled over in the third period. New York defenseman Michael Del Zotto elbowed Pittsburgh forward James Neal in the face, sending Neal sprawling to the ice. He slowly got to his feet but left the game and didn’t return.
Pittsburgh enforcer Matt Cooke buzzed the New York bench, exchanging words with several Rangers and then whacking Lundqvist on the shoulder.
“I don’t know what he is doing, seriously,” Lundqvist said. “It’s just ridiculous. It’s not the first time, right? It’s him being him.”
Lundqvist finished with 26 saves, but might have tweaked his hamstring in the shootout. He expects to be available Saturday when the Rangers play at Carolina.
