Pens’ Malkin throttles Rangers for 3-0 series lead

The MVP candidate scored twice and assisted on another goal in a 5-3 victory.

NEW YORK (AP) — Evgeni Malkin looked every bit like an MVP at MSG and pushed the Pittsburgh Penguins to the brink of the Eastern Conference finals.

Only hours after Malkin was announced as a Hart Trophy finalist, the second-year forward showed how he finished second in the NHL regular season in goals and points.

He scored two power-play goals and added an assist in the Penguins’ 5-3 victory over the New York Rangers Tuesday night that gave Pittsburgh a 3-0 lead in the series.

“I’m definitely proud of him,” said captain Sidney Crosby, last year’s Hart winner. “As a teammate, you always want to see other guys do well. He did that all season. It was a great accomplishment.”

The Penguins are 7-0 in the playoffs and can advance into hockey’s final four as early as Thursday night with another win at Madison Square Garden where they lost all four times they visited in the regular season.

The Penguins are still rolling after a four-game sweep of Ottawa in the first round.

“We are in a great position,” said forward Marian Hossa, who scored the first goal of the game. “Nobody would think that we would be in this position after three games, but right now we are greedy. We want to win another one.”

Just when it seemed the Rangers were going to blow right past the Penguins, a careless boarding penalty by Ryan Hollweg put Pittsburgh back on the power play. And despite being outshot 29-13, the Penguins regained the lead when Malkin scored another power-play goal.

New York pressed for the go-ahead score after its two quick ones forged a 3-3 tie. The Penguins were tired in their own zone when Hollweg, a healthy scratch for the first two games of the series, drilled Petr Sykora from behind into the boards.

“It was not too smart on his part,” Penguins defenseman Ryan Whitney said. “Because of that, we were able to go into the third period with a lead.”

With quick, crisp passes that slid all over the Rangers end during the advantage, the Penguins moved the New York defenders around in exhausting fashion. Crosby’s pass nicked Ryan Callahan before getting to Malkin in the right circle.

Malkin took his time and sent a shot into the net off the left post to make it 4-3 with 2:07 left in the second. Last season’s rookie of the year has five goals in the playoffs, three in this series.

It took all of the exhilaration out of the crowd that went from listless, after a discouraging first period, to jubilant when Jaromir Jagr’s sweeping move from behind the net finished with a deft shot into the top left corner of the net.

“Nobody feels worse than Ryan Hollweg,” Rangers coach Tom Renney said.

Pittsburgh is looking to advance to the East finals for the first time since 2001. Only two NHL teams have come back to win a series after trailing 3-0. The 1975 New York Islanders did it to the Penguins in the second round.