Kris Letang returned to the lineup for his first playoff game since Game 6 of the 2016 Stanley Cup Final, a game in which he scored the Cup-clinching goal. The defenseman was an integral part of the first of the team's back-to-back championship. That June 12th evening when he raisd the Cup would be his last before Wednesday as Letang missed the 2017 playoffs with a herniated disc.
"I was pretty excited," Letang said. "Little bit of butterflies in my stomach before the game, when the puck dropped everything went away. It was pretty fun, pretty exciting."
Defenseman Jamie Oleksiak made his first NHL appearance in the playoffs as well. He spent five seasons in Dallas without a single playoff appearance with the Stars. In his first season with the Penguins, Oleksiak finally made his debut in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
"Before I was a little bit anxious to get out there but once I got on the bench I was comfortable," Oleksiak said. "The emotions were obviously there. It was definitely noticeable how loud it got in there. It was a cool experience and obviously it was nice to win the first one.
Everyone supporting each other helped out."
After defeating the Penguins in the 2014 and '15 playoffs, Derick Brassard faced the team two more times in the following years, losing both playoff series. After coming to Pittsburgh, Brassard suffered a lower-body injury on March 27, ending his regular season. He made sure he was healthy and that his debut in black and gold was a successful one.
Brassard was the primary assister on Jake Guentzel's power-play goal in the second period of Game 1, the lone tally for the team on the man-advantage.
"It felt good. It's nice to be on the good side now," Brassard said laughingly. "It was great energy, great atmosphere around the building. The guys were on the puck; we were skating really well."
Riley Sheahan also played his first postseason game in Pittsburgh. While he appeared in 17 previous playoff games with Detroit, Wednesday was his first as a member of the Penguins.
Rookie forward Zach Aston-Reese has accomplished many firsts in his time in Pittsburgh this season. His most recent milestone came with his first ever NHL playoff appearance in Wednesday's game.
"Nothing compares to being on the ice level and seeing the crowd like that," said Aston-Reese, who grew up a Pens fan. "Seeing all the towels going and all the yellow shirts it was a special moment."
