NHL Playoffs: Rangers vs. Penguins Game 2: Full highlights, final score and more

The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the New York Rangers 4-2 to tie up their first round series at one a piece.

Despite getting Evgeni Malkin back for Game 2, the Penguins could not come through as they lost to the Rangers 3-1. After Pittsburgh jumped out to a 1-0 lead thanks to Phil Kessel’s second period power play goal, New York woke up and scored three unanswered goals in the second period. Keith Yandle, Derick Brassard, and Mats Zuccarello each added a goal as Pittsburgh dug themselves into a hole that they couldn’t dig themselves out of.

Chris Kreider scored in the third period to kill any chances that the Penguins had of coming back. Pittsburgh will have to fix their defensive miscues and likely will need a change in goal as the Rangers seem to have solved backup Jeff Zatkoff. With two goals on the night, Kessel was the only Penguins player to score.

Three stars

1. New York forward J.T. Miller has earned himself a mighty nice raise as he becomes a restricted free agent after this season. That payday just got bigger. Miller had a part in each of the second period goals by the Rangers with three primary assists. His playmaking ability and relentless pursuit of the puck played a huge part in the Game 2 win.
2. Brassard entered the playoffs on a bit of a cold streak. It’s safe to say that he is no longer slumping as he had what would eventually be the game winning goal and had a secondary assist on Yandle’s goal. Brassard was a huge part of their playoff run last season and he’ll have to repeat his performance from tonight consistently in order for the Rangers to win the Cup.
3. Penguins forward Kessel kept the game close for the Rangers for as long as he could. He was the only Pens forward to score with two goals. Kessel has 24 points in 24 career playoff games. They’ll need him to keep producing if they want to win the Stanley Cup this season.

Highlights

"Another look: Yandle ties it up! #StanleyCuphttps://t.co/7nkRJGJtFj— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) April 16, 2016"

"Derick Brassard gives the @NYRangers the lead! #StanleyCuphttps://t.co/EKZkEs0Y86— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) April 16, 2016"

Next Game

After beginning the series with two games at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, this series will head northeast into the Big Apple for two games at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

For more coverage of the NHL Playoffs, make sure to check out our NHL hub page.