Evgeni Malkin scored the game-winning goal in triple overtime as the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the New York Rangers 4-3 in Game 1. The Penguins take a 1-0 lead in their first-round series.
Pittsburgh won despite starting goalie Casey DeSmith pulling himself from Game 1 in double OT with an apparent injury. DeSmith, who had 51 saves in the game, left the ice and had trouble walking to the locker room. Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said after the game DeSmith has a lower body injury. Penguins backup goalie Louis Domingue came in for DeSmith and recorded 17 saves.
Rickard Rakell, who left earlier in the game, is being evaluated according to Sullivan.
Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin ended the game with 79 saves. He is now No. 2 all-time among NHL goalies for single-game saves in the playoffs.
This contest was the 40th longest game in NHL history. Game 2 is on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET.
(Photo:Vincent Carchietta / USA TODAY Sports)
GO DEEPER
Penguins dig deep for victory in remarkable, triple-OT opener
How wild was this game?
Rob Rossi, Penguins beat writer: The Penguins had one of their all-time greats score a skillful tip-goal in the third OT of a game in which they attempted almost 120 shots, registering 83 and had multiple points from Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust. They played with 11 forwards for all but five minutes and rallied from a 2-0 deficit and gave up a shorty — and not one of those things was the wildest aspect. That’s how wild this victory was, and it will be remembered as a legendary win.
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How did the Penguins pull this off?
Rossi: One stat sticks out: 75 giveaways by the Rangers — and credit to the Penguins for forcing many of those. For all the storylines from Game 1, the Penguins played a very responsible game, taking only one penalty and constantly having forwards in front of Rangers’ counterparts. It’s what coach Mike Sullivan said was needed to keep in check the Rangers’ transitional attack, and it happened.
Evaluate Igor Shesterkin's performance
Arthur Staple, Rangers beat writer: You make 79 saves and it's probably a noteworthy night, right? He was excellent as always, a bit busier than the Rangers would like and essentially playing nearly two full games in the first proper playoff game of his NHL career is less than ideal. But the Rangers can only go as far as Shesterkin can take them, so he'll need to be this good for them to advance.
Ways for the Rangers to improve for Game 2
Staple: When the Penguins pushed back in the second period, the Rangers were still a little too determined to wheel, deal and make the extra pass. The Rangers aren't interested in flinging a bunch of low-danger shots on net and seeing what happens, but even within their quality-over-quantity offensive structure they could be a bit more direct than they were after the first period on Tuesday.