After a storyline-driven opening game, the puck drops on the Rangers and Penguins for Game 2 of their best-of-seven Stanley Cup playoffs opening-round series.
Pittsburgh toppled New York, 5-2, in Game 1 and will look to take a commanding 2-0 series lead with it when the series shifts to Madison Square Garden. New York, meanwhile, will try to even things up.
The main storyline stemming from the opening contest belonged in the crease.
With Marc-Andre Fleury out with a concussion and his backup Matt Murray also sidelined, third-string goalie Jeff Zatkoff was thrust into the spotlight. For the Rangers, Henrik Lundqvist was inadvertently hit in the eye by Blueshirts defenseman Marc Staal's stick, which caused him to leave with an eye injury.
Antti Raanta took over for the incumbent goaltender in periods 2 and 3, allowing three goals and making 16 saves. Zatkoff had a tremendous performance, thwarting off the Rangers' early pressure and stopping 35 of 37 shots he faced.
Patric Hornqvist had a huge Game 1 for Pittsburgh, notching a hat trick and collecting an assist for a four-point game. Sidney Crosby (goal, two assists) also found the twine for the Penguins on a breakaway, while Tom Kuhnhacki rounded out the scoring and Kris Letang had two helpers.
Derek Stepan scored both of New York's goals in Game 1 with helpers from Rick Nash, Derick Brassard, Mats Zuccarello and Dan Boyle
In net, Lundqvist practiced and is a game-time decision for Game 2, while the Penguins starting goaltender is also to be determined.
Game Preview & Live Stream
Details: Rangers at Penguins Game 2
Venue: Consol Energy Center, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Time: 3 p.m. ET
Radio: New York (98.7 WEPN); Pittsburgh (105.9 WXDX)
Series: Penguins lead Rangers 1-0.
Prediction: Our predictions for this series can be found here.
Betting Odds: The latest betting odds can be found here.
Watch Online: This game can be live streamed for free here.
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