NEW YORK — Vincent Trocheck scored the shootout winner and Igor Shesterkin made 31 saves as the New York Rangers rallied to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 on Saturday.
After an overtime in which each team had several good scoring chances, Trocheck beat Penguins goaltender Stuart Skinner with the only goal of the shootout as the Rangers ended a five-game losing streak. Shesterkin made five saves in overtime.
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Mika Zibanejad and Taylor Raddysh also scored for the Rangers. The last-place Rangers are 7-15-5 at home this season.
Anthony Mantha and defenseman Ryan Shea scored for the Penguins, who saw their two-game winning streak snapped. Pittsburgh is 8-1-2 since January 17.
Mantha beat Shesterkin at 2:08 of the first period with his 21st goal of the season. Shea made it 2-0 at 1:59 of the second period with his fourth goal.
Zibanjead scored his team-high 24th goal on the power play in the 10th minute of the second.
Raddysh tied it with his ninth at 2:57 of the third thanks to assists from Vladislav Gavrikov and Brendan Brisson. It was Brisson’s first point as a Ranger.
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Forward Tye Kartye, claimed off waivers by Seattle on Friday, made his debut with the Rangers.
Shesterkin made his second straight start since returning in Thursday’s 3-2 overtime home loss to Philadelphia. Shesterkin suffered a lower body injury on January 5.
Skinner made 23 saves in the loss.
The Penguins, led by first-year head coach Dan Muse – a former Rangers assistant – lead the Rangers by 20 points in the Metropolitan Division.
The Rangers, coached by former Penguins coach Mike Sullivan, are last with a 23-29-7 record.
The Penguins were without captain Sidney Crosby, who suffered a lower-body injury at the Winter Olympics in Milan. The 38-year-old center leads Pittsburgh with 27 goals and 59 points. He is expected to miss four weeks.
To be continued
Rangers: Host Columbus on Monday.
Penguins: Host Vegas on Sunday.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
