NHL teams
Scott Burnside, ESPN Senior Writer 8y

Rapid Reaction: Pittsburgh Penguins 6, New York Rangers 3

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Penguins eliminated the visiting New York Rangers 6-3 at Consol Energy Center on Saturday afternoon, avenging playoff losses to the Rangers the past two seasons and moving to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs with a five-game series victory.

How it happened: The Penguins' quick-strike offense blew this game open with four second-period goals, including three by rookies Bryan Rust, who had two, and Conor Sheary, who scored for the second consecutive game.

At one point, New York goalie Henrik Lundqvist had allowed four goals on 18 shots for the second straight game. As was the case in Game 4, Lundqvist was lifted in favor of Antti Raanta, this time after the second period was completed. Lundqvist allowed 10 goals on the final 41 shots he faced.

The Rangers got the start they wanted with early leads of 1-0 and 2-1 after coach Alain Vigneault shuffled his lineup, benching veteran Dan Boyle and Tanner Glass for Dan Girardi, who'd been out with injury, and Raphael Diaz. Girardi drew an assist on the opening goal, but the Rangers ultimately had no answer for the Penguins' speed and they continued to chase the special-teams game.

The Rangers allowed a first-period power-play goal to Phil Kessel that tied the game at 2-2. The Penguins continued to be the most dangerous team in the playoffs with the man advantage, going 8-for-21 in the series. The Rangers, as was the case throughout, could not take advantage of their opportunities, going 1-for-3 on Saturday, finishing with just two power-play goals on 19 opportunities -- and one of those was on a 5-on-3 and the other a meaningless third-period goal by Chris Kreider that made the score 6-3.

What it means: The Penguins will now enjoy the rest as they await the winner of the Washington Capitals-Philadelphia Flyers series, which could end as soon as Sunday afternoon. With the Caps leading 3-2, there is the tantalizing prospect of a Sidney Crosby-Alex Ovechkin showdown, the first since an epic seven-game tilt in 2009.

The Rangers, meanwhile, must come to grips with an utter collapse against the Penguins. After splitting the first two games in Pittsburgh, the Rangers were outscored 14-4 in the final three games. Twice in this series they lost to goaltenders playing in their first-ever playoff game (Jeff Zatkoff and Matt Murray, who was again very good in securing his third straight win).

Eric Staal will be gone this summer to free agency. Perhaps Keith Yandle too. Lundqvist looked old and slow in the final two games as the Penguins consistently beat him with rising shots. Ryan McDonagh, coming back from a hand injury, was ineffective. The offense had no rhythm. After going to the Stanley Cup finals in 2014 and the Eastern Conference finals in 2012 and 2015, this Rangers team looks now to be a club in full-scale regression.

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