The Rangers finally struck first in a playoff game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, but it didn’t stop them from falling behind 3-1 in Game 3 and 2-1 in the series.
New York seemingly had the first goal of the game midway through the first frame, but it was successfully challenged by the Penguins as J.T. Miller was ruled offside. However, Rick Nash gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead with a shorthanded goal early in the second period and this one counted.
Nash struggled in the regular season and has a reputation for coming up short in the playoffs, but he now has a goal and three points in three 2016 postseason contests. His efforts didn’t save the Rangers tonight though as Sidney Crosby tied the game late in the second period and 39-year-old Matt Cullen netted the game-winner at 4:16 of the final frame.
Kris Letang sealed the deal with an empty-netter in the dying seconds of the contest.
With that, 21-year-old goalie Matt Murray has won his playoff debut, although the Rangers only managed 17 shots on him. At the other end of the ice, Henrik Lundqvist turned aside 28 of 30 shots.
Game 4 is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m. ET on Thursday.