NEW YORK (AP) — The surging Pittsburgh Penguins are closing in on the top spot in their division.Teddy Blueger scored twice Youth Matt Duchene Jersey , Matt Murray made 33 saves and the Penguins rallied from an early two-goal deficit for a 5-2 victory over the New York Rangers on Monday night.“I thought we didn’t have a great start,” Blueger said. “We know we have the firepower in here to get back in those kinds of games. We didn’t get down on ourselves. We kept pushing each other.”Blueger centered the second line, with Evengi Malkin out of the lineup due to an upper-body injury.“He’s playing an important role for us right now, especially with Geno out of the lineup, and he’s done a great job,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said.Sullivan said after the game that Malkin, who has been out since leaving a game against St. Louis on March 16, did not skate Monday but “skated a couple of days prior to that.”Justin Schultz, Nick Bjugstad and Matt Cullen also scored for Pittsburgh. Phil Kessel and Marcus Pettersson each added two assists.“One of those (games) where everyone seemed to contribute,” Bjugstad said.Murray improved to 6-0-0 against the Rangers in the regular season and 5-0-0 at Madison Square Garden.Pittsburgh, which finished a 3-0-1 road trip, pulled into a tie with the New York Islanders for second place in the Metropolitan Division with 95 points. Both teams trail Washington by one point for first.“We’re all well aware of the standings and where we’re at Mike Condon Jersey ,” Sullivan said.Brendan Lemieux and Vinni Lettieri scored for the Rangers. Alexandar Georgiev, coming off a 44-save effort in a 2-1 overtime win Saturday night at Toronto, stopped 31 shots.“We weren’t able to sustain all the good things we did in the first period,” coach David Quinn said.“And for them to tie it so quickly seemed to deflate us. We never got back on track.”Trailing 2-1, the Penguins roared back with three goals in the second.They tied the game 61 seconds into the period on the power play. Sidney Crosby had the puck behind the Rangers net and sent a pass to Schultz, who one-timed it past Georgiev for his second of the season.“I just saw Sid go behind the net,” Schultz said. “Obviously, he’s got great vision. Tried to find a lane. He made a great pass. Fortunate enough for it to go in.”Cullen gave the Penguins their first lead when he sent a high shot past Georgiev’s left shoulder at 7:17.Later in the period, with the Penguins killing a penalty, Blueger skated in on a break and sent a pass to Bryan Rust. The puck deflected behind the net and Rust sent a pass to Blueger, who scored on a backhand for his fifth of the season at 13:12 to make it 4-2.“I saw Rusty going backdoor and so I tried to throw it to him,” Blueger said. “Didn’t connect that clean. I just instinctively stayed there. I tried to get it on net as quick as possible.”Blueger added his second of the game at 7:38 of the third. Jared McCann sent a shot at the net and Blueger got enough of the rebound to put it in for his sixth of the season. The goal withstood a replay challenge for offside.The Rangers Ryan Dzingel Jersey , who will miss the playoffs and are playing out the string, got off to a fast start in the opening period.Mika Zibanejad skated into the zone and sent a pass to Pavel Buchnevich at the left faceoff circle. Buchnevich quickly sent a cross-ice pass to Lemieux, who wristed it past Murray for his 12th of the season at 8:25. The goal was Lemieux’s third with New York since being acquired at the trade deadline from Winnipeg.The Rangers made it 2-0 on the power play when Lettieri fired a one-timer from the left faceoff circle past Murray at 15:15 for his first goal of the season.“In the first period, we were playing our game,” Georgiev said. “When we started losing, we started playing offensive hockey and the game opened up. Tonight they managed to shoot pucks really well.”Just 26 seconds later, Bjugstad got the Penguins on the board when he scored his 12th of the season. He got a loose puck and squeezed it through Georgiev’s pads to make it 2-1.“It was laying there and I just whacked at it. Just get the puck to the net and stuff happens every once in a while,” Bjugstad said.NOTES: Penguins defenseman Kris Letang missed the game with an upper-body injury. His status is day to day. Zach Trotman replaced him in the lineup. … Rangers forward Jesper Fast will miss the rest of the season because of an injury. D Marc Staal was out with a lower-body injury and forward Chris Kreider is day to day after missing Saturday’s win at Toronto.UP NEXTPenguins: Host the Nashville Predators on Friday night.Rangers: At the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night. Warren Foegele carried his Charlotte Checkers bag out of the visiting locker room and insisted he hadn’t yet earned an upgrade.Foegele needs a new bag now because he beat the odds and made the Carolina Hurricanes‘ opening night roster with an impressive preseason. Only reigning Art Ross Trophy winner Connor McDavid and last year’s rookie of the year Mathew Barzal had more preseason assists than Foegele, the top surprise player to make an NHL team out of training camp.“I just came to camp, just put my head down and tried to work hard and tried to make good plays,” Foegele said. “I’m a hard-working player and I think I can fit anywhere in the lineup. I think I can grind, I think I can make plays Womens Tom Pyatt Jersey , but I think the work ethic is what I really take a lot of pride in and that’s what I try to show.”With seven points in eight preseason games — only nine players around the league had more — Foegele beat out other forwards on one-way contracts to make Carolina’s roster. He’s a Rod Brind’Amour kind of player because the coach said Foegele is always around the play and “even if he doesn’t produce points or whatever, you just feel like he wins his shifts.”Foegele was at his best against the defending Stanley Cup champion Capitals when he forced turnovers and set up a pair of goals. The late-blooming 22-year-old who went from the University of New Hampshire to the Ontario Hockey League to the American Hockey League doesn’t stand out with his skill but can do a little bit of everything.“He really can skate and also he can score some goals,” Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho said. “He’s not just a grinder. I think he can really make some plays, too.”Foegele will get that chance this season.Here are some other players who surprised by making NHL season-opening rosters:MIKHAIL VOROBYEV, FLYERSThe 6-foot-2, 194-pound Russian center didn’t just challenge for a spot with Philadelphia. General manager Ron Hextall said the 2015 fourth-round pick broke down the door and forced the organization’s hand.Vorobyev led the Flyers with seven preseason points and has stood out since Day One of training camp.“It’s what you’re looking for with your young players: Come in and make an impact, and he did,” Hextall said. “He’s a real good two-way player. He’s not a young guy that you’re afraid to put him out there because of the defensive side of the puck.”MATHIEU JOSEPH, LIGHTNINGAn injury to forward Tyler Johnson opened up a role for Joseph on Tampa Bay’s third line and second power-play unit. Joseph’s quickness is his most noticeable attribute, and he made the Lighting in large part because he led them in preseason scoring with eight points on four goals and four assists.“Speed is probably the big thing,” coach Jon Cooper told reporters Monday. “What we really liked in the preseason: He was finishing a lot.”DILLON DUBE, FLAMESIt would have been very easy for Calgary to keep Curtis Lazar Jordan Nolan Jersey Womens , but GM Brad Treliving knew Dube would play for the Flames someday. The 20-year-old made sure it was now.Dube had four goals in the preseason and could open the season on the third line with Derek Ryan and free agent signing James Neal, giving him an opportunity to put up plenty of points when the games count.JESPERI KOTKANIEMI, CANADIENSIt’s no surprise the top two picks from June’s draft, Buffalo defenseman Rasmus Dahlin and Carolina forward Andrei Svechnikov, are in the NHL right away. So maybe it shouldn’t be a shock about Kotkaniemi, but Montreal seemed to take him third as a long-range investment.Instead, the Finnish center was one of the Canadiens‘ best players in exhibition action and never looked out of place. In an organization short on big centers, Kotkaniemi is a welcome addition right away.
