PITTSBURGH — Deserving? Well, that's something the Rangers surely don't care about now.
After giving away an early 2-0 lead, the Blueshirts found themselves in a dire situation on Friday night at the CONSOL Energy Center, playing as poorly as they have all postseason for the better part of two periods, allowing the Penguins to come back and tie it.
And yet somehow, Derick Brassard still managed to get a goal early in overtime — one not initially credited, so Benoit Pouliot netted another seconds later just for good measure — to give the Rangers a 3-2 win, taking Game 1 of this second-round series, the first overtime game they have played this postseason.
"We're meeting an elite team," coach Alain Vigneault said before the game. "We know coming into this series that for us to have a chance against such a good team, we're going to have to find another level — another level of execution, another level of compete. That's how good these guys are.
"We're aware of that," he continued. "We're looking forward to the opportunity."
Vingeault's team was coming off a thrilling Game 7 win over the Flyers on Wednesday, allowing the Rangers to advance to the second round for the third consecutive season. Although the opening series went the distance, it wasn't particularly grueling for the Rangers, and they came into the opening game against the Penguins with some confidence.
"We just want to continue to roll with the way we've been playing in the last series," Ryan McDonagh said Friday morning, "take the momentum we earned there, and play with confidence."
The third period was scoreless, and rather tepid after the back-and-forth of the first two frames.
As good as the opening period was for the Rangers, they were conversely as bad in the second. While getting outshot 15-4, they blew a 2-0 lead and watched as the Penguins tied it, 2-2. The first goal came from Lee Stempniak 7:15 in, as he knifed an in-close backhand past Henrik Lundqvist's blocker after the Blueshirts goalie was caught looking for a centering pass.
As the Rangers continued to struggle — especially in fumbling away another two power-play opportunities — the Penguins tied it with 6:32 remaining in the second, as James Neal fired a shot that Lundqvist saved and sent up in the air. While the puck floated above Lundqvist's head, Evgeni Malkin came in a whacked at his left arm. The puck came down and bounced off the back of Lundqvist's pads and over the goal line — a goal upheld after a referees review that sent the two teams into the third period knotted at two.
Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi battle for the puck against Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh PenguinsPhoto: Getty
"I know they're skilled," Lundqvist said before the game. "I know they're going to come."
The series couldn't have started any better for the Rangers — or any worse for flappable goalie Marc-Andre Fleury and the Penguins. Just 5:04 in, Benoit Pouliot took a rather innocuous shot from the high slot that beat Fleury over his right shoulder, an easy save that was botched, giving the Rangers a 1-0 lead.
The Penguins had trouble getting into the offensive zone, and with about three minutes remaining in the first, they had the puck along the blue line when the whistle blew. It originally looked like a hand-pass on Sidney Crosby — either that or a horrible offside call — but the ensuing faceoff was inside the offensive zone. Either way, right after Brad Richards won the draw, the Rangers streaked down the ice, Carl Hagelin beat Olli Maatta in the corner, and found Richards wide open in front. With Fleury flailing all over the ice, Richards calmly put it to his forehand and shoveled one it, giving the Blueshirts a 2-0 lead going into the second.
"You can't look at the big picture," Martin St. Louis said Friday morning. "You just have to focus on Game 1. Once that game's over, focus on Game 2."
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