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Don’t poke the King? Rangers unhappy with Pens ‘poking’ Lundqvist

Anton Stralman, Chris Kunitz, Henrik Lundqvist

New York Rangers defenseman Anton Stralman (6) of Sweden defends Pittsburgh Penguins left wing Chris Kunitz (14) as Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist (30) of Sweden makes a save in the third period of Game 6 of an NHL hockey second-round hockey playoff series, Sunday, May 11, 2014, in New York. The Rangers defeated the Penguins 3-1 to tie the series at 3 games a piece. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

AP

There’s been more than enough angst of late between the Rangers and Penguins. As both teams head for a Game 7 on Tuesday, New York isn’t happy about the way Pittsburgh has been treating Henrik Lundqvist.

Rangers coach Alain Vigneault told reporters following the game he’s not happy with the extra jabs Lundqvist has taken from the Penguins.

“We’re just trying to play,” Vigneault said. “One of the concerns we that have is there’s a lot of poking at our goaltender after the whistle. Always their same guys. They’re supposed to know goaltenders need to be protected.”

The Penguins have been crashing the net hard and trying to get at loose pucks is part of the game, but a lot of the goalmouth scrums wind up happening because of things like this. It’s something every team will do and the Rangers are likely guilty of doing similar things to Marc-Andre Fleury as well.

Then again, this could just be preemptive campaigning to earn a call in Game 7 that could help turn the game in the Rangers’ favor. Gamesmanship is fun.

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