The New York Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-1 Wednesday night with the help of multiple newly acquired players at the trade deadline. Ryane Clowe came over to the Rangers in a deal with the San Jose Sharks two days ago and scored two goals to lead the Rangers to the big win over the Penguins.
Clowe was sent to the Rangers for two draft picks in 2013 and another in 2014, and posted his first two goals of the season Wednesday. The 30-year-old also had an assist in the game as the Rangers went on to win their second straight to start the month of April.
Center Derick Brassard and defenseman John Moore were acquired by the Rangers on Tuesday in a blockbuster deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets for Marian Gaborik , and made an immediate impact after joining the team at Madison Square Garden.
Brassard and Moore arrived at the stadium less than 20 minutes away from the opening face off, but suited up and sparked the Rangers past the Penguins. Brassard finished with a goal and three assists while Moore added his first goal of the season in the third period.
The Rangers jumped all over the Penguins in the first, as Brian Boyle opened up the scoring midway through the period. Ryan McDonagh scored his third goal of the season two minutes later before Ryan Clowe lit the lamp to give the Rangers a 3-0 lead after one.
New York kept up the pressure to start the second, and Derick Brassard scored on the powerplay just under two minutes in. Penguins forward Pascal Dupuis followed Brassard’s goal with one his own, which ended up being the Penguins only tally of the night.
Clowe scored the Rangers third powerplay goal of the game with 12 minutes left in the second period to give New York a 5-1 lead going into the third. John Moore sealed the win for the Rangers after finding the back of the net at the 9:47 mark of the final period.
Marc-Andre Fleury struggled in net for the Penguins, and didn’t receive much defensive support as he went on to stop 33-of-39 shots in the contest. Rangers netminder Henrik Lundqvist cruised in the 6-1 win, stopping 26-of-27 shots on the way to his 16th win of the season.
The Rangers and Penguins have a day off Thursday before meeting again to finish the home-and-home series in Pittsburgh on Friday. The Penguins have now lost two straight games after stringing together 15-straight wins in March .
With a new-look roster and just over three weeks left in the season, the Rangers are in the middle of a playoff race with the New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders. All three teams are tied at 39 points, with the Islanders on the outside looking in due to playing one more game so far this year.
Can the Rangers hold on to one of the final playoff spots in the Eastern Conference as the NHL season begins to wind down in the crucial month of April?
[Image via Ivan Makarov ]