yard short of a first down on fourth down at the Tiger

PITTSBURGH -- The New York Rangers arent about to let the loss of two top forwards derail their hot start.The Rangers were hit with adversity the previous two days, first on Sunday after learning Mika Zibanejad and Pavel Buchnevich would miss extended time because of injury, and the following day when they fell behind early against their division rival Pittsburgh Penguins.Rick Nash sparked a comeback, though, and J.T. Miller scored short-handed to cap a second-period rally, helping the Rangers overcome an early two-goal deficit to beat the Penguins 5-2 on Monday night.We know a lot about this team because we played them so much over the last handful of years, Miller said. I think we were on our heels a little too much to start, a little too passive. I thought we were a lot more aggressive after that, and when we did that, we forced them into more turnovers and got a couple lucky bounces.The teams play again Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden to complete a pivotal, early season home-and-home between Metropolitan Division contenders. The Penguins have lost four of six and trail the first-place Rangers by four points.Pittsburghs Jake Guentzel scored twice in the first period of his first NHL game, but Rick Nash and Michael Grabner made it 2-2 before Miller, a Pittsburgh native, got his eighth of the season.Kevin Hayes added his ninth goal midway through the third, and Derek Stepan also scored into an empty net.Antti Raanta, starting the second game of a back-to-back for New York, rebounded after the first period and made 29 saves for his fifth win in six games.Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 31 shots for Pittsburgh. It was the first time he started two straight games since Matt Murray returned earlier in the month from a broken hand.Its a long season and things arent always going to go your way, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. Whats most important, from our standpoint, is how we react to it. Thats the lesson we need to learn from this game.Zibanejad, injured a day earlier against Florida, is expected to miss six to eight weeks for the Rangers with a broken leg, while Buchnevich is out two to three weeks with a back injury. Zibanejad had five goals and 15 points in 19 games, while Buchnevich scored four goals and eight points in 10 games.That didnt deter the Rangers on Monday, as New York, with an NHL-best 81 goals through 20 games, was able to rally.Miller scored in the final minute of the second period to put the Rangers ahead. A centering pass deflected off Penguins defenseman Kris Letang and forward Evgeni Malkin before hitting Miller and going past Fleury.The Rangers next goal was also a lucky one, as Ryan McDonaghs centering pass hit off Hayes skate and went behind Fleury.The game didnt start the way we wanted, but I thought after the first period we settled down, Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. Thats a really strong team, but we were able to do what we had to do to get the job done.Guentzel made his debut against the same team that drafted his father Mike in the seventh round in 1981. The younger Guentzel scored on the first shot of his first shift, a similar feat accomplished by Penguins co-owner Mario Lemieux 32 years earlier. Guentzels wrist shot from below the left faceoff dot sneaked between Raantas pads 1:02 into the game. It was the fastest goal by a Penguins player making his NHL debut.His second goal came exactly 12 minutes later. Malkin tipped Phil Kessels initial shot, and Guentzel put the rebound behind Raanta from the slot.Guentzel, the Penguins 2013 third-round pick, was recalled from the teams AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton earlier in the day. He had seven goals and 17 points in 16 AHL games, leading the team and ranking among the league leaders.Its a dream come true to play here, Guentzel said. Whenever you get the chance, you want to make the most of it.This was the first meeting between the division rivals since the Penguins eliminated the Rangers in the opening round of the playoffs last spring. It marked the third straight year the teams met in the postseason -- the Rangers won the first two meetings before losing to the Stanley Cup champions last season.Game notes Guentzel is the fifth player in team history to score his first NHL goal on his first shift. He is the third Nebraska-born player in NHL history to score a goal. ... Malkin has points in seven straight home games.... Penguins F Chris Kunitz, who has 11 points in 18 games, is considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury. ... Patric Hornqvist, who missed the last three games with a concussion, skated on his own before the Penguins morning skate.UP NEXTThe teams complete their home-and-home at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday. Marvin Webster Jersey . PAUL, Minn. Iman Shumpert Jersey . But by the time the game started, the Toronto Raptors forward felt even worse. And, for three quarters, it showed as Gay shot a woeful three-for-13 from the field. https://www.cheapknicks.com/ . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. Landry Fields Jersey .Y. -- Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo had little trouble picking up his first shutout of the season against a Buffalo Sabres team thats having trouble scoring goals. Jamal Crawford Jersey .Y. -- Jayna Hefford scored the winning goal Friday as Canada survived a scare with a 4-3 win over Sweden at the Four Nations womens hockey tournament. NEW ORLEANS -- Southern entered the Bayou Classic with the top two all-purpose yardage producers in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, but Gramblings Martez Carter produced the most Saturday.The junior running back had 279 all-purpose yards and scored three touchdowns as the Tigers defeated the Jaguars 52-30 to claim the Southwestern Athletic Conference West Division title.The Tigers (9-1, 9-0) advanced to the SWAC title game for the second consecutive year. Theyll face East Division champion Alcorn State next Saturday in Houston.Carter rushed 10 times for 118 yards and two touchdowns, returned two kickoffs for 104 yards, including an 88-yard touchdown, caught one pass for 28 yards, returned one kickoff for 16 yards and returned three punts for 29 yards.Its going to make future teams respect us, Carter said of the SWACs leading passing teams rushing success. They say were a passing team, but we also can run the ball well. We had a lot of success today and thats going to open those guys eyes up to respect the run game that we establish.The Tigers had 256 yards rushing and DeVante Kincade completed 24-of-33 passes for 283 yards and a touchdown and ran nine times for 56 yards and a touchdown.We did a really good job of running the football, Grambling coach Broderick Fobbs said. We saw some things from the way they were lining up in the first half and we were able to take advantage of it.After being held scoreless in the second quarter, the Tigers scored on the first possession of the third quarter as Kincade ran 45 yards for touchdown that increased the Tigers lead to 24-13.Three plays after Grambling stopped Southern on a fourth-and-1 at the Tigers 13, Carter ran 66 yards for a touchdown and Lyndemian Brooks ran 34 yards for a touchdown and a 38-13 lead with 4:02 left in the third quarter.One play after a Grambling fumble, Austin Howard threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Lenard Tillery to get the Jaguars within 38-20 after three quarters. Tillery, the SWAC leader in all-purpose yards, also ran 26 times for 234 yards and a touchdown, but wide receiver/return specialist Willie Quinn, whos second in all-purpose yards, had just 64 yards.Kincade threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Chad Williams before Southerns Ruan Albuquerque made a 32-yard field goal with 6:56 left. Carter returned the ensuing kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown.Howard threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Tillery with 3 seconds left.We just werent able to put up enough poinnts to keep up with them, Southern coach Dawson Odums said.dddddddddddd We gave up too many big plays and that was the difference in the game.Southern took the opening kickoff and drove to an 18-yard touchdown pass from Howard to Quinn and a 6-0 lead after the extra point was missed.On the ensuing possession, Carter ran 11 yards for a touchdown that gave Grambling a 7-6 lead.Williams 32-yard halfback pass to Verlan Hunter gave Grambling a 14-6 lead after one quarter.We practiced that play all week, Williams said, and I told Verlan to get ready because if someones on him, Im throwing it to him anyway.Tillerys 85-yard touchdown run pulled Southern within 17-13 at halftime.DEFENSIVE STANDSThe game featured the two highest-scoring offenses in the SWAC, but two defensive stands by Grambling made a big difference. Southern trailed 7-6 and was poised to take the lead midway through the first quarter when Howard fumbled at the Grambling 1 and the ball went through the end zone for a touchback. In the third quarter Grambling led 24-13 when it stopped Tillery 1 yard short of a first down on fourth down at the Tigers 13. One or two plays in a football game can make the difference, Jaguars coach Dawson Odums said. (Howards fumble) swung the momentum and we never got it turned around.THE TAKEAWAYGrambling: The Tigers are back as a perennial SWAC contender after playing for the West Division title for the third consecutive year and winning it for the second consecutive year. The Tigers finished 9-0 in the SWAC regular season for the second consecutive year.Southern: The Jaguars high-scoring offense wasnt up to par as the Grambling defense contained quarterback Austin Howard and big-play wide receiver/return specialist Willie Quinn. Running back Lenard Tillery, the SWACs all-time leading rusher, had a big game in the final game of his collegiate career with 230 yards, including an 85-yard touchdown, as well as a 14-yard touchdown reception.UP NEXTGrambling: The Tigers will play East Division champion Alcorn State in the SWAC Championship Game next Saturday in Houston. Grambling will try to avenge a 49-21 loss to Alcorn in last years title game.Southern: The Jaguars season ended with the loss. They finished with a winning record for the fourth consecutive season.AP college football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '