Just as it became clear the Rangers were running away with the win Thursday night at Madison Square Garden, the Penguins turned up the physicality.
Tyler Motte was ultimately the collateral damage of that shift in play during the third period, after Pittsburgh winger Anthony Angello landed a thunderous high hit on the Rangers’ trade-deadline acquisition. Angello barreled his side into an unsuspecting Motte, who got knocked in the head and went to the locker room for the rest of the game.
Head coach Gerard Gallant didn’t have an immediate update following the 3-0 victory.
The Rangers took issue with the hit and let the Penguins know for the final stretch of the game. Smaller scuffles broke out after each of the last few whistles before tensions boiled over once the final horn sounded.
Players from both clubs participated in some extracurricular activities in the corner. Pleasantries were also exchanged around center ice, when the Penguins were supposed to be heading to the locker room and the Rangers were supposed to be saluting the fans.
“For the most part, I think it was hard through the whistles,” said Frank Vatrano, who scored his sixth goal as a Ranger in the win. “Then it got a little chippy there toward the end. But I think the three times I played against them since I’ve been here, it’s been a playoff type of game and those are the games you’re going to play down the stretch. Especially against a team that you might see in the first round.”
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Barclay Goodrow led the Rangers with five hits, but the Penguins ultimately held a 28-22 edge in that category. In his 400th career game, Goodrow found himself at the center of a couple of tussles as well toward the end of the game.
The intensity was surely a by-product of the Rangers and Penguins squaring off four times in the span of just over a month, but it also may have been some parting messages with a potential playoff series on the horizon.
The Blueshirts won their 30th game against an Eastern Conference opponent, marking the 14th time in franchise history they have done so. The last time the Rangers accomplished the feat was during the 2015-16 season.
In the previous four games, the Rangers have been perfect on the penalty kill. After going 3-for-3 on Thursday night, the Rangers’ PK has killed off the last 12 power plays it has faced.