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 Center Derick Brassard's goal in the first minute Thursday night was
the catalyst in the Rangers' 2-1 victory that gave them a 1-0 lead
in their best-of-seven playoff series.
Game 2 scheduled for Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.
The Rangers came at the Penguins in waves during the first 20
minutes before throttling into neutral during the final 40 minutes
to secure the victory.
Defenseman Ryan McDonagh's power-play goal late in the first period
proved to be the winner. The Penguins dug themselves an early hole
with four minor penalties in the first period.
"We put a couple goals in there in the first period and got the
crowd and momentum on our side," McDonagh said. "It's the most
important thing here: You find a way to win. We've got one, and now
our focus switches to Game 2 on Saturday."
The Penguins did everything they could to climb back into the game.
Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, who could be faulted entirely on the
first goal and partly on the second, stopped 36 shots to give the
Rangers a chance to pull off a comeback.
The Penguins even got a goal from their fourth line, when right
winger Blake Comeau banged in a rebound to make it a one-goal game
early in the second period.
In the postseason, when the margin for error is thin, especially
when a wild-card team like Pittsburgh is facing the Presidents
Trophy-winning Rangers, and all it takes is a bad start to sink any
chances for stealing a game on the road.
Left winger Rick Nash, who was booed at home during last year's
second-round series between the teams, helped get the Rangers on the
board in the first minute. He pounded a long shot that led to a
juicy rebound off the pads of Fleury, and Brassard buried the puck
into the open side of the net to send the Rangers on their way.
"I think it's a privilege to start the game," Brassard said. "I
thought the five guys on the ice, we did a good job to get our team
going. I give a lot of credit to Rick. He didn't shoot to score
there. He shot for a rebound. He did it on purpose. It was just
right there for the rebound."
After McDonagh made it 2-0 on a shot from the blue line that changed
direction on the way to the net, Fleury stopped the final 24 shots
he faced.
It was, however, too little, too late for the Penguins.
"He was solid," Penguins center Sidney Crosby said of Fleury. "He's
been doing that all year for us, so I don't think that's anything
new for us. It was quite a storm there early on and we did a good
job of just sticking with it and staying focused and it allowed us
time to get ourselves back in the game."
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Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist barely had to break a sweat in
the win. He stopped 24 shots, with maybe his most difficult one
coming in the first period when he stretched across to stop right
winger Steve Downie's attempt on a two-on-one chance.
The Penguins played better and the game was much closer in the final
two periods -- close enough for them to believe they have a chance
in Game 2.
"Our game started to come as we played them five-on-five, which was
a good sign, a positive sign," Penguins coach Mike Johnston said.
"But we need to look at our whole game, including the penalties. I
thought maybe two of them were bad penalties for sure."
If the Penguins have a better start and avoid a parade to the
penalty box, they have a shot. Otherwise, the Rangers could make
this a quick series.
"It's always important to build in a series," Lundqvist said. "You
start with one and you try to feel good about yourself and your
performance, and when you win you definitely feel a lot better. But
it's just one, so we'll have another good practice tomorrow and then
we'll get ready for another one.
"It was definitely a good start."
NOTES: The Penguins were missing three key players in Game 1 -- D
Kris Letang (concussion), D Christian Ehrhoff (concussion) and D
Derrick Pouliot (upper body). It has been reported that Letang is
out of the season, but Ehrhoff and Pouliot could return during this
series. ... The Rangers expected D Kevin Klein (arm) to return for
the playoffs, but he is instead day-to-day. ... Rangers LW James
Sheppard was a healthy scratch, although he could replace LW Tanner
Glass during the series. ... Rangers LW Rick Nash was in the lineup
after missing practice Wednesday with the flu.
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