Hagelin, Kreider help give Rangers 2-1 series lead over Penguins

The New York Rangers took a 2-1 series lead over the Pittsburgh Penguins Monday night with a 2-1 victory. 

For the third straight game New York scored the opening goal. Keith Yandle took advantage of the Penguins while on a line change midway through the first period and sprung the speedy Carl Hagelin:

The Rangers kept the Penguins’ big guns at bay, holding Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to a combined two shots. Pittsburgh’s only goal came via Patric Hornqvist during a third period press where they put 13 shots on Henrik Lundqvist, who ended with 23 saves.

New York had a 2-0 lead by that point, thanks to Marc Staal’s perfectly placed shot wide of Marc-Andre Fleury, which bounced right to Chris Kreider, who was in front to bat it home:

Game 4 is Wednesday night back at CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh.

For the 16th time in their past 24 games the Penguins failed to score more than two or more goals. The disappearance of their offense was a key factor in their 4-9-2 finish to the regular season and a reason why they’ve dropped Games 1 and 3 against the Rangers.

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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy

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