Crosby, Malkin shut down, power play ice cold and more: 3 reasons why Pittsburgh Penguins lost 4-2 to New York Rangers

The Pittsburgh Penguins dropped a disappointing 4-2 decision to the New York Rangers on Friday at Madison Square Garden. The loss snapped the Penguins’ four-game winning streak.

Artemi Panarin scored twice for the Rangers, while Rielly Smith and Vicent Trocheck got the others for the Blue Shirts. Blake Lizotte opened the scoring for the Penguins in the second period, with Philip Tomasino getting the other tally for the Pens.

Here’s a closer look at three reasons why Pittsburgh lost to New York on Friday night.

3 reasons why Pittsburgh Penguins lost to New York Rangers

#3. Rangers overmatched Penguins

The Rangers played a strong game against the Pens, outshooting them 32-22. The Penguins struggled to keep up with the Rangers at times, looking slow and overmatched. In particular, the Rangers controlled much of the second period, tying the game about a minute after Lizotte opened the scoring.

Then, when Tomasino tied the game in the third, the Rangers picked up the pace, scoring a little over a minute later. The Rangers locked the game down, with Trocheck getting an insurance marker at 18:22 of the third period.

#2. Power play went ice-cold

Pittsburgh went 0-for-4 on the power play. It missed opportunities with the man advantage that allowed New York to stay in the game. In particular, the Penguins failed to cash in on two power plays in the second.

Meanwhile, they got another opportunity in the third, failing to convert on that one as well. While the Penguins did score shortly after that power play, the missed opportunity potentially cost the Penguins a chance at taking the lead in the third.

Ultimately, it was a disappointing night for the Penguins’ power play, which stands 13th in the league at a respectable 22.7%.

#1. Crosby, Malkin shut down

Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin had a quiet night. Both stars combined for six shots on goal. However, they could not convert on any of them.

Crosby played over 20 minutes going minus-1, with Malkin logging over 17 minutes, also going minus-1 on the night.

The Rangers did a good job of shutting down the Pittsburgh Penguins’ top scorers, leaving the Pens’ depth scoring to pick up the slack. While the depth did get the Penguins on the board, it wasn’t enough to overcome the post-Trouba bump the Rangers got on Friday night.

The Penguins won’t have much time to lick their wounds as they take on the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday at PPG Paints Arena, playing their second game in as many nights.