Pittsburgh Penguins' Patric Hornqvist (72) gets the puck past New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist (30) for a goal during the first period of a first-round NHL playoff hockey game in Pittsburgh, Wednesday, April 13, 2016.Gene J. Puskar/The Associated Press
Patric Hornqvist had a hat trick and Jeff Zatkoff made 35 saves in his first ever NHL playoff appearance as the Pittsburgh Penguins took a 1-0 series lead with a 5-2 victory over the New York Rangers on Wednesday night.
Goalie drama dominated the series opener with the 28-year-old Zatkoff making a surprise start in place of Marc-Andre Fleury. Rangers starter Henrik Lundqvist exited the game after the first period after being struck near the eye by the stick of a teammate.
Sidney Crosby had a goal and two assists while Tom Kuhnhakl also scored for the Penguins.
Derek Stepan struck twice for New York, which saw backup Antti Raanta make 16 saves in relief of Lundqvist.
Zatkoff, a former third round pick of the Los Angeles Kings with less than 40 games of NHL experience, was up to the task all night long in place of Fleury, who has been sidelined since March 31 with a concussion.
All signs Wednesday morning pointed to the Penguins No. 1 goalie returning to start Game 1 with even the Rangers expecting the veteran to get the nod.
Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan was coy after the morning skate, stating only that the goaltending choice would be a game-time decision. He offered little on the status of Fleury, who was hopeful to return in time to start the series opener following his second concussion this season.
His availability was made more urgent by the absence of backup Matt Murray, who was injured in the final game of the regular season and unavailable to play.
It was Zatkoff and not Fleury who started, though, with the Michigan native making just his 30th career NHL start.
Zatkoff rarely seemed fazed by the moment of his surprise appearance, and was especially strong in a first period that saw the Rangers assert early control. There was a quick right pad stop on J.T. Miller less than three minutes in and an even better blocker save on Jimmy Hayes moments after that. The New York forward pounced on a rebound opportunity from inside the right faceoff circle.
The Rangers had 12 of the first 15 shots on goal with Pittsburgh being held without a shot on consecutive first period power plays.
The Penguins grabbed momentum after a quality shorthanded chance from former Ranger Carl Hagelin, which sailed high over Lundqvist.
Pittsburgh landed seven of the final eight shots in the first, cashing in on a goal from Hornqvist, which came around 30 seconds after the incident which eventually knocked Lundqvist from the game.
Lundqvist was struck by the blade of teammate Marc Staal's stick, with the blade just sneaking through a hole in Lundqvist's goalie mask. The Rangers goaltender dropped to the ice in a fright immediately, remaining down for a minute or two before skating to the team's bench.
He remained in the game after a brief consultation with team doctors before surrendering the goal to Hornqvist, which snuck through the pads on a rebound attempt.
Raanta led the Rangers onto the ice for the second period with no sign of Lundqvist either on the ice or bench. Like Zatkoff at the other end, it was the playoff debut for the backup goaltender from Finland.
Crosby pushed the Penguins lead to two with just over a minute left in the second, electrifying a home crowd draped in yellow. The Penguins captain was sprung for a breakaway after a Dan Girardi point-shot was blocked. Crosby beat Raanta's glove with a high shot.
The Rangers pulled back within one with a five-on-three power play early in the third. Stepan finished the pretty tic-tac-toe passing play, his shot barely eluding the stick of Zatkoff.
Pittsburgh got its two-goal cushion back just over two minutes later on a short-handed goal from Kuhnackl, a 23-year-old rookie from Germany who was appearing in his first career playoff game, adding the second from Hornqvist on another power play.
Stepan added a second for New York on a quick shot that beat Zatkoff short-side before Hornqvist, the Swedish winger and former Nashville Predator, completed the hat trick into an empty net.