NEW YORK – This series is far from over. But the Penguins don’t look done yet.
The Penguins picked themselves up after a rough first period against the New York Rangers on Tuesday. They twice climbed out of a deficit in the second. And they came oh-so close to seizing the lead in the third. After the game went into double overtime, their third-string goalie kept them alive after Casey DeSmith reportedly exited the game due to cramps.
Then, Evgeni Malkin scored 5:58 into triple overtime at Madison Square Garden to win an instant classic, 4-3, in Game 1 of the Penguins’ first-round playoff series.
Louis Domingue, forced into action in relief of DeSmith, stopped 17 shots.
Game 2 will be Thursday at 7 p.m. in New York. The pressure will only intensify for an inexperienced Rangers team trying to avoid falling into a 2-0 hole.
It was 11 minutes before midnight when Malkin tipped John Marino’s point shot past Igor Shesterkin, who made 79 saves in a losing effort.
The intensity and intrigue were already at a 10 when DeSmith departed the game. He was solid prior to that, stopping 48 of the 51 shots that he faced.
After a whistle with 10:42 left in double overtime, DeSmith skated to the bench and had a brief chat with Penguins head athletic trainer Chris Stewart. DeSmith had to leave the game. The crowd was abuzz as DeSmith limped down the tunnel to the dressing room. Domingue, who made two starts this season, was coming in.
The journeyman was at a career crossroads last summer, with little interest from teams in the NHL and overseas. The Penguins eventually came calling. He signed up to be the organization’s third-string goalie, rediscovered his passion for the game and resuscitated his career with their American Hockey League club.
The Rangers flung 14 shots at him in double OT, a few of them quality looks.
Prior to Tuesday, the Penguins had lost their previous five playoff overtime games. The last one they won had been Game 7 of the 2017 Eastern Conference finals, the wild night when Chris Kunitz scored in double overtime in Ottawa.
In the first overtime, Guentzel just missed a game-winning hat trick when his shot knocked the post behind Shesterkin. There were also anxious moments at the other end late in that period, but DeSmith and his snow angels kept it going.
Sidney Crosby rang iron late in double overtime, as well, but the puck stayed out.
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan regularly talks about how he wants the team to dictate the terms of engagement. But it was the Rangers who set the tone early on Tuesday.
In the first period, they threw 19 hits, many of them on the forecheck. Ryan Reaves leveled three different Penguins defensemen in Pittsburgh territory. Marino seemingly had a bullseye on the back of his sweater. And at one point, both Rickard Rakell and Jake Guentzel lay in pain in opposite sides of the ice.
Rakell was knocked out of the game after Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren made contact with his head, forcing Sullivan to shuffle his lines and the Penguins to fight back with a short bench. Lindgren was given a minor penalty for his hit.
The Rangers, meanwhile, scored the first goal of the series on a power play.
Adam Fox, one of the best at shimmying and head-faking at the offensive blue line to open up the shooting lane, caught DeSmith leaning the wrong way.
DeSmith kept the Penguins in the game during the first period. But DeSmith, in the Pittsburgh crease with Tristan Jarry still sidelined by a broken foot, made a miscue early in the second that allowed the Rangers to tack on to their lead.
Instead of settling the situation down with a whistle, DeSmith tossed the puck to a teammate. The Rangers would reclaim possession and, within seconds, New York fans were roaring after Andrew Copp ripped a one-timer past DeSmith.
Everything was going the Rangers’ way when the game took an abrupt U-turn.
It was the Penguins captain who grabbed the wheel and whipped the car back around.
Crosby sent a pass across to Kris Letang on a 2-on-1. Shesterkin did the splits to keep it out. But the Rangers seemingly exhaled. The Penguins kept pushing and Crosby slipped another pretty pass to Jake Guentzel, who made it 2-1.
The top line built more momentum with another threatening shift. Then Guentzel scored again off another sneaky setup from Crosby on the counterattack.
Guentzel’s two goals were as many as he had in his previous 10 playoff games.
Chris Kreider restored the Rangers’ lead with a short-handed goal. But the Penguins answered right back with a tic-tac-toe tally during a 5-on-3 power play. It was Bryan Rust who swept in Malkin’s one-touch pass for the tying goal.
That put the exclamation point on a dominant period for the Penguins, who had 25 shots on the second — including an eye-popping 14 from the slot, per Sportlogiq. Two goals were off the rush and their cycle game gave the Rangers fits.
It was more of the same in the third period. But Shesterkin got it to overtime.
The Penguins, meanwhile, benefitted from a favorable ruling late in the third.
Filip Chytil appeared to score the go-ahead goal with 3:10 left in the third but the Penguins, perfect on challenges this season, successfully challenged it. After a video review, the officials ruled that Kaapo Kakko interfered with DeSmith.
Irate Rangers fans tossed down profane chants and a few pieces of trash.
The Penguins finished regulation with 47 shots on Shesterkin, who was far and away the biggest reason why the Rangers were able to hang in the game.
