Rupp’s first NHL hat trick, Crosby’s 3 points give Penguins home-and-home sweep of Rangers

Rupp scores 3, Crosby adds 2 in Pens’ rout of NYR

NEW YORK — Mike Rupp shook off a leg injury in the third period, snapped a tie with his second goal of the night, and then completed his first NHL hat trick to help the Pittsburgh Penguins break a long losing streak at Madison Square Garden and sweep a home-and-home series from the New York Rangers with a 5-2 victory on Monday night.

Rupp’s first goal gave Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead in the second period and his second made it 3-2 with 8:46 remaining. Rupp left the ice for the dressing room about 5½ minutes earlier after he banged his left leg against the boards after being hit from behind by defenseman Dan Girardi.

Rupp scored into an empty net with 1:40 remaining to give him a career-high eight goals.

Pittsburgh improved to 3-0 this season against the Rangers, including an 8-3 win at home on Saturday night. Sidney Crosby, who had a hat trick and five points in that one, netted his 16th and 17th goals of the season and added an assist Monday.

Crosby made it 4-2 with 4:09 left, and Jordan Staal had two assists for the Penguins, who had dropped eight straight to New York on the road since March 19, 2007. Pittsburgh has won six in a row against the Rangers, dating to last season. Marc-Andre Fleury made 29 saves.

Marian Gaborik scored both Rangers goals to push his NHL-leading total to 21, but New York dropped its third straight. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 28 shots.

Both teams took a one-goal lead in the second period and lost it as the game headed to the third tied 2-2.

Gaborik started the scoring at 3:12 when he deflected a pass from Vinny Prospal into Fleury and then put the puck past him with a second whack from in front.

In just his 25th game with New York, Gaborik reached the 20-goal mark for the sixth time in his nine NHL seasons. Every time Gaborik has hit that milestone, he has netted at least 30 goals.

Before this one could be announced to the Madison Square Garden crowd, Crosby struck to tie it. Crosby, who has the most faceoff wins in the league this season, won the draw at center ice after Gaborik’s goal.

Penguins defenseman Sergei Gonchar moved the puck to Bill Guerin, who found Crosby streaking into the New York zone. Gliding with speed, Crosby shifted the puck from backhand to forehand and beat Lundqvist up high at 3:23 — just 11 seconds after Gaborik put the Rangers in front.

Crosby paced the Penguins’ rout in Pittsburgh on Saturday when he struck for three goals and two assists.

Rupp pushed Pittsburgh into the lead only 4:10 later. Staal won a faceoff in the Rangers’ end and got the puck to Rupp in front. He was stopped on his first backhanded try but scored on his second at 7:33.

Lundqvist picked up his game during the second, most notably during the Penguins’ two power-play chances when the Stanley Cup champions generated five shots — several within striking range.

His biggest stop, however, came 8 seconds into Gonchar’s holding the stick penalty. Staal raced in on a breakaway, but was denied when Lundqvist put his pads together. On the ensuing trip up ice, the Rangers took advantage of the power play and got even.

Gaborik again made the most of his chance when he swept in a loose puck from near the right post with 1:18 left in the period.

NOTES: Penguins LW Matt Cooke served the first half of his two-game suspension, delivered by the NHL after his hit to the head of Rangers C Artem Anisimov on Saturday. Anisimov was back in the lineup for the rematch. … Pittsburgh D Jay McKee returned after missing six games (finger infection). … Rupp scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal for New Jersey in 2003. … Gaborik has five two-goal games this season.