Fleury, Pens Silence Rangers
Goalie makes 26 saves and Jordan Staal scores on power play in shutout of New York.
Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, left, is congratulated by teammate Maxime Talbot after shutting out the New York Rangers 2-0 in Game 2 of their NHL playoff series.
AP Photo
PITTSBURGH — Jordan Staal scored a power-play goal in the second period and Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury made the lead stand up, giving the Penguins a 2-0 victory Sunday over New York Rangers and a home-ice sweep of the first two games of their second-round series.
Staal’s goal came with older brother Marc, a Rangers defenseman on the ice, and was all the offensive support Fleury needed while making 26 saves. Fleury helped the Penguins kill off two key Rangers power plays in the final six-plus minutes and Adam Hall scored into an empty net with 16.7 seconds remaining.
Games 3 and 4 will be Tuesday and Thursday nights at Madison Square Garden, where Pittsburgh is 0-3-1 this season.
Staal’s power-play goal at 13:55 of the second came with the Rangers’ best penalty killer, Chris Drury, off for hooking. Evgeni Malkin gathered the puck in the left circle and fed it down low to Staal, who shifted from his backhand to his forehand to lift the puck over goalie Henrik Lundqvist.
Lundqvist, a Vezina Trophy finalist, played a superlative game, several times making multiple saves with traffic in front of him and the Penguins pressing to take a lead they knew would put further pressure on the Rangers. New York now must sweep the two games in New York to regain a tie in the series between Atlantic Division rivals.
Seconds before Staal scored his second of the playoffs, Pittsburgh’s Marian Hossa and Ryan Malone couldn’t convert from in close as the Rangers’ Martin Straka rushed back to the bench to replace his broken stick — momentarily creating a 5-on-3 for Pittsburgh. Sidney Crosby also missed a good scoring chance.
Crosby didn’t score but again occupied the Rangers’ attention at both ends of the ice.
Stars 5, Sharks 2
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Mike Modano and the Dallas Stars probably don’t want to leave the Shark Tank. At least they’re heading home with a two-game lead in a second-round series that’s turning into a rout.
Modano scored the tiebreaking goal early in the Stars’ four-goal third period, and Marty Turco made 29 saves in a win over the Sharks, sending Dallas home with a 2-0 series lead.
Brad Richards scored the tying goal on an awful San Jose turnover in the opening minute of the third period, and Niklas Hagman added two insurance goals in the Stars’ eighth win in their last nine trips to San Jose.
At a Glance
Pittsburgh 2, N.Y. Rangers 0, Pittsburgh leads series 2-0
Dallas 5, San Jose 2, Dallas leads series 2-0
Montreal at Philadelphia, 7 p.m.
Pittsburgh at N.Y. Rangers, 7 p.m.
San Jose at Dallas, 7:30 p.m.
Detroit at Colorado, 10 p.m.
