With the regular season winding down, the Penguins knew they needed a win last night just to keep pace with the rest of the Metro Division. But they were playing without Kris Letang, who missed the game with an upper body injury, and they fell behind the Rangers 2-0 before staging a comeback for a 5-2 win.
Teddy Blueger scored a pair of goals, and Justin Schultz, Nick Bjugstad and Matt Cullen also scored as the Pens won their third straight game and finished their four-game road trip earning 7 of a possible eight points.
The Pens are in a tie with the Islanders for second place in the Metro Division, a point behind the Capitals. They are four points up on Carolina, and in the Eastern Conference playoff chase,Pittsburgh is seven ahead of eighth place Montreal and eight ahead of ninth place Columbus, which at this point is out of the playoffs.
Letang played the first three games of the road trip after missing eleven games with an upper body injury. Evgeni Malkin, Zach Aston-Reese, Olli Maatta, and Chad Ruhwedel remain out of the lineup. Pittsburgh’s next game is Friday at home against the Predators. The Penguins play four of their final five games at PPG Paints Arena.
