PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – It had to feel very familiar for Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan at PPG Paints Arena Saturday afternoon. Not just being in the building as the Pens celebrated the 2015-16 Stanley Cup team he coached, but that his team gave up an opening goal on the opening shot. Pens beat New York 6-5.
As a team last year, the Pens gave up 15 goals on the opening shot when Sullivan coached here. Saturday it was Anthony Mantha deflecting a shot by Rutger McGroarty just 2:37 into the game for a 1-0 lead.
Just over three minutes later Blake Lizotte and Connor Dewar were each able to keep the puck in the zone with Lizotte finding Noel Acciari for a slapper and his fifth goal of the season.
Mantha would score again off a spinning pass by Rickard Rakell after he was stoned on his point blank shot at 12:59 of the second period to make it 3-0. It’s Mantha’s second multi-goal game in the last four and third of the season. The 31-year-old has 19 goals this year and 40 points in 53 games.
After New York scored a power play goal, the Pens would add two pretty quickly. Sidney Crosby’s first point in a couple games, an assist through the crease to Rickard Rakell to make it 4-1. Erik Karlsson got the secondary assist, the 700th in his career.
Acciari scored again on a rebound, his first multi-goal game since December 6, 2022 against the Islanders, 5-1 Pens.
The rest of the third period was pretty wild as the Rangers scored four times including a short-hander by Vince Trochek, but the empty net goal by Ben Kindel ended up being the game-winner.
“There are definitely some things we can look at and clean up,” said Pens head coach Dan Muse. “We gave some chances up there, more than we needed to, but in the end, you find a way, you dig in, big faceoff win at the end (by Acciari). Take the two points, learn from it and move on.”
“Definitely you don’t want to give up that many that late, but we were able to stay with it,” Acciari said. “A month ago, or so, we lose that game in overtime or they take us to overtime. The fact that we were able to hold onto it was good.”
“It’s a little closer than we would have liked, but sometimes you have to win games like that,” said captain Sidney Crosby. “Entertaining for the fans and the guys in attendance. We’ll take the two points and try to learn from it.”
It’s the sixth consecutive win and the Pens are within a handful of points, heading into Saturday night’s games, of being the top team in the Eastern Conference.
“We want to get back in the playoffs,” Acciari said. “The past three-four years have been tough. We have a team here now, we’re close. We are having fun and winning, we want to ride that out.”