New York Rangers (1-1) at Pittsburgh Penguins (1-1), 7 p.m. (ET)
(SportsNetwork.com) - The Pittsburgh Penguins managed to tie their series against the New York Rangers thanks in large part to the play of captain Sidney Crosby.
Crosby will try to lead the Pens to a 2-1 lead over the heavily-favored Presidents' Trophy champions when the rival clubs meet on Monday for Game 3 in Pittsburgh.
The Penguins earned a split in the first two games of this best-of-seven set at Madison Square Garden, losing a close 2-1 decision in Game 1 despite being thoroughly outplayed. Pittsburgh then held on for a 4-3 win in the second meeting in the Big Apple on Saturday, using a pair of Crosby goals to defeat the reigning Eastern Conference champs and tie the series at 1-1.
Crosby picked up his first two goals of the postseason to lead the way in Game 2. The star centerman halted a five-game goal-scoring drought in the playoffs, hitting the net for the first time in the postseason since Game 3 of last spring's seven-game loss to the Rangers in the conference semifinals. New York won that series after falling behind three games to one.
Prior to Saturday, Crosby only had one goal in his previous 19 playoff games He also recorded his first multi-goal effort in the postseason since a hat trick to pace a 4-3 victory over Ottawa in Game 2 of an Eastern Conference semifinal on May 17, 2013
"The best players in the NHL are going to get some looks and he got some looks [Saturday]," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said.
Chris Kunitz, who was reunited with Crosby to form an effective line for the Pens, chipped in a goal and two assists. Brandon Sutter added a goal and a helper for Pittsburgh, while Marc-Andre Fleury made 23 saves for the win.
"It would have been tough for us to go down two games," Fleury said. "We played a full 60-minute game and hung in there. It is a nice feeling to get the win."
Pittsburgh went 2-for-4 on the power play and killed off six of New York's seven chances with the man advantage. The Pens are 10-for-12 on the penalty kill in this series.
"Absolutely too many penalties," Pittsburgh defenseman Ian Cole said. "I mean, I took two of them. Without a doubt too many penalties, but a heck of a job getting it done."
Derek Stepan, Derick Brassard and Rick Nash tallied for the Rangers, while Henrik Lundqvist stopped just 18 shots.
"I think it is on us. It's totally not good enough in a playoff game," Nash said. "We gotta make it our goal to get inside and make them make great saves."
Rangers defenseman Kevin Klein is expected to miss a 19th straight game tonight. Klein is considered day-to-day and hasn't played since suffering a broken arm while blocking a shot by Washington's Alex Ovechkin on March 11.
Pittsburgh played without defensemen Christian Ehrhoff, Kris Letang and Derrick Pouliot on Saturday. Ehrhoff is questionable for tonight with a head injury, while Letang's concussion could keep him out for the entire playoffs.
Pouliot is suffering from an upper-body injury but he did participate in the morning skate on Monday and could return for Game 3. He has missed four straight tilts dating back to the regular season.
After storming back to defeat Pittsburgh in last season's playoffs, the Rangers posted a 3-0-1 record in four meetings during the 2014-15 season series. New York outscored the Pens by a 16-8 margin during the regular season.
New York's seven-game series' win over the Pens last season marked the club's first-ever victory over Pittsburgh in the postseason. The Rangers had lost the previous four encounters before charging back to defeat Pittsburgh a year ago.
Game 4 of this series is scheduled for Wednesday in Pittsburgh.