The Penguins won Game One 4-3 in a triple overtime thriller off a tip from Evgeni Malkin, but failed to beat Igor Shesterkin in Game Two, falling 5-2 to the Rangers.
NHL History was made Tuesday night.
Louis Domingue had an interesting night, Tuesday, to say the least. After Casey DeSmith left the game halfway through the second overtime period, Domingue was forced to start cold for what was a historic moment in the NHL.
Before Game One, no other goaltender in the history of the NHL has started in double overtime or later during the playoffs.
Between the 2nd and 3rd overtime periods, Domingue shared that he ate spicy pork and broccoli to get something in his stomach before taking the ice.
The hearts of Penguins fans across the nation sank into their stomachs as the spirits of Rangers fans rose to the ceiling at a golden opportunity to take a 1-0 series lead against a third-string goaltender.
Domingue, however, had other plans, stopping all 17 shots he faced giving the Penguins exactly what they needed. A chance.
Six minutes into triple overtime, Evgeni Malkin tipped a shot from the point by John Marino, giving the Penguins a huge win in Madison Square Garden, going up in the series 1-0.
If it were up to Sidney Crosby, Domingue would eat nothing but spicy pork and broccoli for the rest of the series.
Momentum from Game One not enough.
The second period of Game One was all Penguins, firing 25 shots on goal and allowing only 8 shots from the Rangers.
Two goals from Jake Guentzel and one late from Bryan Rust squared up the game 3-3 heading into the third.
From there, it was any man’s game, but the Penguins grit paid off in the end.
Unfortunately, the momentum from the triple overtime thriller wasn’t enough to propel the Penguins to another win.
Game Two truly could’ve gone either way.
The Penguins had all the right mojo heading into the third period after a dominant play from Sidney Crosby, who sliced through three Rangers and got Rust’s rebound to make it a 1-goal game.
The first 10 minutes of the third were dominated by the Penguins, but Shesterkin stood tall and an unlucky bounce off Mike Matheson gave the Rangers a 2-goal lead.
1:47 later, Frank Vatrano went top cheese on Domingue to put the dagger in the Penguins side.
The Penguins fell 5-2 in Game Two.