PITTSBURGH — Dan Boyle isn’t buying Derek Stepan’s “We’ve got a lot of guys who are gripping the stick, and there’s no need for that now” analysis of the power play that the alternate captain offered in the wake of Saturday’s 1-for-7 performance in the Game 2, 4-3 defeat to the Penguins.
“Each individual is going to respond differently,” Boyle said on Sunday. “Pressure is pressure. You have to enjoy it and handle it the right way.”
The Rangers were 0-for-5 through the first two periods on Saturday, sending six shots on Marc-Andre Fleury in 10 minutes of power-play time, with a couple of the man-advantages no more than exercises of wasted time.
Derick Brassard did get one early in the third, but the Blueshirts went without a shot on their final man-advantage just 2 ¹/₂ minutes later when down 3-2. Winning 4-of-13 power play faceoffs — 4-of-11 in the offensive zone — didn’t help.
Boyle, who generally is up second on the power-play point, has been on for 8:43 of the Blueshirts’ 22:15 of power-play time in the series, but was not on for either power-play goal. The Penguins have gone 2-for-5 in 9:36, 2-for-4 in Game 2.
“We obviously didn’t win the special-teams battle,” said Chris Kreider, on for 11:58 of power-play time, but not for a goal.
Coach Alain Vigneault ruled Kevin Klein out of Monday’s Game 3.
The defenseman, who suffered a broken left arm in Washington on March 11 — six weeks this Wednesday — is on the trip, but has yet to practice with the team.
The Blueshirts, who did not skate on Sunday, are scheduled to practice on Tuesday.
Vigneault said he would decide after a further review of the video and consultation with the staff whether to adjust the lineup. James Sheppard is the spare up front while Chris Summers is the lone healthy extra defenseman.
The Rangers, who led the NHL with 58 points on the road while going 28-11-2, won three of the four games in Pittsburgh in last year’s second-round series, including Games 5 and 7 while facing elimination. The Rangers were 1-0-1 in Pittsburgh during the regular season, the defeat coming in the Boyle “double-touch” shootout game on Nov. 15.
“We’ve grown to be a good road team,” Ryan McDonagh said. “We have an us-against-the-building mentality that helps us stick together.”
The Rangers have invited John Amirante to return to the Garden on occasion as a guest singer of the national anthem.