Sidney Crosby has only been back for five games this season but has made an immediate impact for the Penguins. After notching two assists last night in a 4-3 loss to the Rangers, he now has points in four of the five games since his return from a concussion.
But last night, it was the first time the Penguins failed to gain a point since his return, as they dropped to 3-1-1.
“It’s only five games in. It was OK,” Crosby said after the loss, referring to his play. “The first half, we did some good things, and then they got some momentum back.
“In the third, we did a pretty good job of battling. Unfortunately, some penalty trouble was hard to get some rhythm.”
Making his first trip to the Garden in almost a year, having last played here Dec. 15, Crosby was booed relentlessly by the crowd every time he touched the puck. Crosby, who now has scored 54 points in 38 career games against the Rangers, missed half of last season and 20 games this season after suffering a concussion in January.
Crosby fed teammate James Neal on the power play late in the first period to give the Penguins a 1-0 lead with 2:04 to play. It was the only lead for the Penguins, as the Rangers exploded for four goals in the second period in just over 10 minutes.
“They carried the play and scored some nice goals on some nice shots,” Crosby said. “We had some bad bounces. Sometimes they go against you and sometimes you have to work for your bounces, and maybe with that second period we didn’t deserve to get back in this one.”
Crosby again got on the scoresheet after the Penguins dumped it in the Rangers’ zone early in the third and he slid a pass to Pascal Dupuis, who beat Henrik Lundqvist to make it 4-3 Rangers. It was the fourth time Crosby registered multiple points in his five games this season.
The Rangers had six power plays, converting on two of them. The Penguins were also two men short for 1:52 of the third period, which didn’t help their comeback attempt.
“We were getting close. It’s tough,” Crosby said. “I thought our penalty kill did a great job killing off two sets of 5-on-3 there. That’s all you can ask for.”