NHL

Jeffrey’s SO goal lifts Penguins over Rangers

Dustin Jeffrey scored one of Pittsburgh’s three second-period goals and then had the only one in a seven-round shootout to lift the injury-depleted Penguins to a 4-3 victory over the New York Rangers on Tuesday night.

Marc-Andre Fleury made 25 saves through overtime and then stopped all seven attempts against him in the shootout to outduel fellow All-Star goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who turned aside 23 shots.

Jeffrey scored in the top half of the seventh round, snapping a shot past Lundqvist. Fleury then denied Marian Gaborik to give the Penguins their fifth straight win at Madison Square Garden.

New York’s Ryan Callahan, who missed the previous 19 games because of a broken hand, tied it at 3 in the closing seconds of the second period after the Penguins netted three consecutive goals to grab the lead. Brandon Prust and Artem Anisimov had staked the Rangers to the two-goal edge.

The Penguins, playing without captain Sidney Crosby (concussion) for the 10th straight game and Evgeni Malkin for the fourth time (sinus infection) showed grit in the second period when Jeffrey, Mike Rupp, and Chris Kunitz scored.

Callahan got the Rangers even with 12.5 seconds remaining in the second when he tipped in Michael Del Zotto’s shot at the tail end of New York’s five-minute power play. The Rangers were given the extended advantage after Pittsburgh center Jordan Staal hit Prust with a sucker-punch during a scrum in front of the benches.

Pittsburgh gave up two goals or fewer in the six games before the All-Star break, going 5-1 in that stretch.

Staal was given a match penalty for attempting to injure Prust and was ejected. He could face additional discipline from the NHL. In addition to the absences of Crosby and Malkin, the penalty left the Penguins without their top three centers for the rest of the game.

Prust was injured briefly, but returned.

Pittsburgh had rallied with three straight goals in a span of 8:42 of the second.

Jeffrey got the comeback started at 5:30 when his shot from the left point hit diving defenseman Dan Girardi and changed direction on its way past Lundqvist. Jeffrey’s third goal, 10 seconds into a power play, cut the Penguins’ deficit to 2-1.

Rupp tied it 4:06 later with his fifth. Max Talbot flipped an innocent-looking shot in on Lundqvist that hit the goalie but squirted away. Rupp got free of Del Zotto and was able to knock in the rebound.

Kunitz gave Pittsburgh the lead when he tipped in defenseman Zbynek Michalek’s shot from the left point with 6:48 remaining in the second.

The Rangers took the lead when Prust scored off a rebound on New York’s first shot. Anisimov stretched it to 2-0 by batting in a pass from Brandon Dubinsky out of the air.

Notes: Malkin might play Wednesday against the New York Islanders. … The Rangers got Callahan (broken hand), Dubinsky (leg), and defenseman Dan Girardi (ribs) back from injuries. The Penguins were without C Mark Letestu, who hurt a knee during Tuesday’s morning skate. … Pittsburgh, which owns the NHL’s top penalty-killing unit, had gone six games and 10 of 11 without allowing a power-play goal. They were successful on 21 straight short-handed situations and 19 consecutive on the road before Callahan scored. … Penguins RW Arron Asham sustained an undisclosed upper body injury in the second period and didn’t return. … D Steve Eminger was a healthy scratch for the Rangers. … New York C Vinny Prospal, sidelined all season following knee surgery, is expected to make his season debut Thursday against New Jersey.