Race to Four Goals Turns into Marathon

Heading into their Round One matchup with the New York Rangers, Bryan Rust said they knew adversity was going to hit at some point, in some form, throughout the course of this series.
"We knew there were going to be things that don't really go our way, or things that are unexpected," the Penguins winger said. "We have to expect the unexpected."
It's safe to say that Louis Domingue coming in cold during double overtime following an injury to Casey DeSmith, and helping backstop the Penguins to a 4-3 victory in triple overtime to cap off an absolutely wild Game 1, was the definition of unexpected.

"There was a lot of things going on, between trying to make a comeback and three overtimes and Louis going in the net," Rust said with a smile. "That one was pretty fun. Especially because we got the win there."
In fact, what transpired in this thriller of a game is truly the kind of stuff you dream of.
"You dream about that your whole life; you're playing in overtime in the playoffs. Are you kidding me?" Domingue said with a laugh. "You think that you would be nervous going into a situation like that, but it was just fun for me."
Apart from their goaltenders, there's been a lot of talk lately about how the battle-tested Penguins have so much experience, and how they would be able to draw on that to react the right way to the ebbs and flows of a postseason hockey game.
And as the young, exuberant Rangers flew around in the first period buoyed by the belligerent home crowd at Madison Square Garden, outshooting the Penguins 8-1 and 11-2 at different points before building a 2-0 lead just 3:08 into the second, you really could just sense that there was zero panic on Pittsburgh's side.
While the situation wasn't ideal, the guys knew they had plenty of time to get back into the game. And sure enough, once the initial adrenaline seemingly wore off on New York's side, the veteran Penguins started to take over.
"Obviously, the Rangers had a real good start, they came out with a ton of energy. But I thought our team responded really well," Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said. "We kept our composure, and we slowly got momentum. I think our leadership did a did a terrific job just making sure that we kept a certain demeanor."
That leadership always starts with Sidney Crosby, whose line got the comeback started. The coaching staff had moved Rust back with him and Jake Guentzel for the last three games of the regular season to try and create a more balanced lineup. And while the trio didn't necessarily produce to their usual standard during that final stretch, that was more of a blip on the radar than anything.
"We know when we're at our best, we can be one of the top lines in the league," Guentzel said.
And that line was absolutely at their best tonight. Guentzel scored twice, with Crosby and Rust earning the assists, to even the score at 2-2 at the 11:47 mark of the second. But then, with an opportunity to take the lead on a power play, the Penguins gave up a shorthanded goal.
Fortunately, they responded the right way yet again, finding the back of the net just 1:23 later with a 5-on-3 tally from Rust. Overall, the Penguins were completely dominant in that middle frame, outshooting the Rangers 25-8.
"I thought we had a terrific second period," Sullivan said. "I thought from the second period on, we played extremely well. We simplified the game, we made better decisions. But the most important aspect of it is I think just the demeanor of the group and the composure of the group through the emotional aspect of the beginning of the game."
The beginning of the game started to feel like a distant memory as it stretched on, as the end of the game didn't come until nearly midnight. The first overtime came after the Penguins used their coach's challenge to argue goalie interference on what would have been the go-ahead goal with 3:10 left in regulation, and won.
From there, everything was relatively uneventful as it can be for playoff overtime until DeSmith, making his NHL playoff debut with All-Star starting goalie Tristan Jarry sidelined with a lower-body injury and playing brilliantly, skated to the bench for a talk with head athletic trainer Chris Stewart. After a brief discussion, DeSmith headed to the locker room and did not return, with Sullivan saying he is being evaluated for a lower-body injury of his own.
"It got us caught off guard a little bit, obviously you don't want to see your goalie go down," Rust said. "But we have a lot of faith in Louis."
And he rewarded that faith by coming in and making a couple of key saves right away, doing a terrific job under tough circumstances. Domingue did his part down at one end, and finally, the Penguins were able to find a goal at the other end. Evgeni Malkin tipped a point shot from John Marino to give his team the win and series lead.
It was quite a night for the Big Three, with Kris Letang skating a game-high 46:41 - and making it look easy - at age 35.
So, to recap:
- The Penguins go down 2-0 while getting outshot 8-1 and 11-2
- They battle back and tie it 2-2
- The Rangers take the lead with a shorthanded goal, but the Penguins get it right back
- The Rangers appear to take another lead with 3:10 left in regulation, but the Penguins use their coach's challenge and the call on the ice is overturned
- The Penguins and Rangers are scoreless after one overtime
- After making 48 saves on 51 shots, DeSmith leaves midway through double overtime with a lower-body injury
- Domingue, who started the year as the third goalie on the depth chart, immediately becomes a Pittsburgh legend while making 17 stops in relief
- Malkin wins it at the 5:58 mark of triple overtime by beating Igor Shesterkin with Pittsburgh's 83rd shot of the night. That's a new single-game franchise high and the second-most in NHL historybehind Tampa's 88 on Aug. 11, 2020 vs. Columbus
- The Penguins did all of this while also playing with 11 forwards for most of the game, as Rickard Rakell left in the first period following a high hit from Ryan Lindgren and did not return. He is also being evaluated.
"It's a fun game. We played like five periods," Malkin said. "We know it's unbelievable, the fans here. It's always fun playing in New York. I think it's my favorite rink. We know the first period is very hard, but we try to focus the full game. We lose a couple guys (to injury), but we played like a team. We played hard, we played smart, blocking shots. We did everything to win.
"It's a hard, physical game… I hope we rest tomorrow. We know it'll be a physical and tough series."