The New York Rangers are likely too far behind the Washington Capitals to take any legitimate run at the Atlantic Division down the stretch.
But winners now of four straight, the Rangers have opened up a bit of a gap between them and other Eastern Conference teams in the playoff race. New York scored a 3-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, winners in six of their last seven games, on Wednesday.
In the process, they held a red-hot Sidney Crosby off the score sheet, which has been a difficult, sometimes impossible task for opposing teams since about the middle of December. He entered this game with a seven-game scoring streak.
(In fact, New York held No. 87 to without a shot on goal in the entire game.)
Henrik Lundqvist stopped all 34 shots he faced for the shutout.
Kevin Hayes gave the Rangers the lead in the first period, before Dominic Moore and Jesper Fast put the game away in the third.
Pittsburgh remains in the second Wild Card spot in the East. The Rangers now move three points clear of the rival Islanders for second in the Metropolitan.
Coach Sullivan has no update on Trevor Daley. Said he didn't get a chance to talk to the medical staff yet. -MC
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) February 11, 2016