Rick Nash shot for the pads, Derick Brassard dashed down the middle of the ice in search of the rebound, and the New York Rangers got the lucky goal and the lucky start they were hoping for. The result they wanted followed more than 59 minutes later. The Rangers defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Madison Square Garden. Brassard got the Rangers started with a goal 28 seconds into the game off a rebound from Nash's shot that bounced off Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury's pads. Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh scored on a power play in the first period, and goalie Henrik Lundqvist made 24 saves to help New York take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-7 Stanley Cup Playoff series. Lundqvist has allowed four goals in four consecutive playoff wins against the Penguins dating to last season, when the Rangers trailed the series 3-1 but advanced to the Eastern Conference Final with a win in Game 7 of the second round. The Rangers have won all three games against the Penguins at home this season, including two in the regular season.
Blake Comeau scored in the second period, and Fleury made 36 saves for Pittsburgh. The Penguins gave the Rangers five power plays, including four in the first period, which limited captain Sidney Crosby to seven shifts and 3:42 ice time. New York outshot Pittsburgh 38-25; the Rangers held an 18-5 advantage five minutes into the second period. McDonagh scored his power-play goal at 15:16 of the second, during the Rangers' third man-advantage. He scored on a one-timer from the left point off a pass from Keith Yandle that hit off Fleury and went into the net to give New York a 2-0 lead. The Penguins made it 2-1 in the second, which was the better of their first two periods considering they were faster and stayed out of the penalty box. It allowed them to establish some puck possession time low in the Rangers zone. Comeau's first NHL playoff goal came at 6:15, capping a four-shot sequence by the Penguins' fourth line, which generated pressure and continued to hunt down the puck and send shots at Lundqvist after he made saves. The first shot came from Maxim Lapierre from the goal line. The second came from Comeau off the rebound of Lapierre’s shot.
Ben Lovejoy had the third shot, and Comeau scored on the rebound with Lapierre causing havoc in front of the net. Lapierre gained position in the slot on Rangers defenseman Dan Boyle, who couldn't get to the loose puck before Comeau. The Penguins can't ignore the first shift either. That's when the Rangers set the tone, and it was off of a set play, according to Brassard. Dan Girardi connected with Nash on a stretch pass out of the defensive zone. Nash shot quickly from the top of the left circle. The puck hit Fleury, came to the middle of the ice in between the hash marks, and Penguins defenseman Paul Martin couldn't recover in time to stop Brassard from getting to the rebound for an easy put-back. The Penguins followed Brassard's goal with four penalties. Kunitz went for goalie interference, defenseman Taylor Chorney for interference on Rangers forward Tanner Glass, Comeau for roughing center Dominic Moore, and forward David Perron for slashing left wing Carl Hagelin. Pittsburgh was the most penalized team in the NHL during the regular season.
Pens Quotes
Mike Johnston: "The momentum, the crowd, the surge, and those penalties, they earned it. It took a lot of momentum away from our team. Key players couldn't get on the ice, so certainly that was a key factor in the start of the game. Our game started to come as we played them 5-on-5, which was a good sign, a positive sign. But we need to look at the whole game, including the penalties."
Penalties| 1st Period | ||
|---|---|---|
| 06:02 PIT | Chris Kunitz Interference on goalkeeper against Henrik Lundqvist | |
| 08:54 PIT | Taylor Chorney Interference against Tanner Glass | |
| 14:33 PIT | Blake Comeau Roughing against Dominic Moore | |
| 16:43 PIT | David Perron Slashing against Carl Hagelin | |
| 2nd Period | ||
| 13:04 NYR | Rick Nash Boarding against Rob Scuderi | |
| 3rd Period | ||
| 05:33 PIT | Steve Downie Cross checking against Mats Zuccarello | |
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