The first game of the Rangers-Pittsburgh series caused conflicting feelings among Penguins fans. Their team, although they won a strong-willed victory in the third overtime, lost their main goalkeeper during the playoffs. Now they have a goalkeeper with no experience in the NHL.

The Rangers, in the second match, took advantage of the opponent’s weak point and equalized the score in the series. Panarin scored three points and helped the Blueshirts win.

And Igor Shesterkin, with his reliable play, infuriated the Pittsburgh players.

Envy of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh’s main goaltender Tristan Jerry watches the Stanley Cup from the stands due to an injury. And the honorary status of the first number was given to reserve goalkeeper Casey Desmith. For the 30-year-old American goalkeeper, the series with the Rangers was an opportunity to make his debut in the NHL playoffs. Desmith did not lose his head and took advantage of a gift of fate – the American looked good in the match against the Blueshirts.

But luck turned away from the American as quickly as it came – in the second overtime, Desmith was injured. The damage turned out to be serious and the keeper left the ice. The empty net was taken by Pittsburgh’s backup goaltender Louis Domingue, who has only two NHL games under his belt in his entire career.

Although Pittsburgh scored in the third overtime, and Domingue dried up the Rangers, the Penguins fans were in no hurry to celebrate the victory. Spending the rest of the playoffs with a goaltender with minimal NHL experience is not a good prospect. Firstly, the Rangers have a powerful offense that will certainly take advantage of the penguins’ weak link. Secondly, when an opponent has a goalkeeper of the “Vezina Trophy” level, and you have a substitute for a substitute, this is very annoying.

And now the problems of Pittsburgh appeared already in the second match. The Rangers showed Domingue what the NHL was by scoring five goals against the Penguins. At the same time, Panarin most of all mocked the “brand new one” – the Russian had an assistant double and an abandoned puck. And the Penguins, out of desperation, seem to have decided to equalize the balance of power in the goalie lines – the Pittsburgh forward knocked down Shesterkin and almost injured him.

Panarin brought his team a goal, but beautifully apologized

It seems that the Rangers coaching staff instructed their hockey players to constantly load the inexperienced goaltender of Pittsburgh with work. The Blueshirts threw from any position, not even the most obvious one. And already in the middle of the first period, this paid off – Andrew Kopp opened the scoring in the second match of the series with Panarin’s transfer. The pass of the Russian turned out to be a feast for the eyes – Artemy showed with all his appearance that he was going to make a throw, but at the last moment he gave Kopp a pass to an empty net. That rare case when a pass overshadows a goal.

But already in the next shift, Panarin became an anti-hero – the Russian went to the stroke in the middle zone and lost the puck. Pittsburgh immediately rushed to the counterattack and equalized the score. Despite the obvious and gross mistake, the coaching staff did not express any claims to Panarin. The Rangers are used to playing reliable and vertical hockey, and the Russian is almost the only player in the Blueshirts who is allowed to move away from tactics and create on the court.

Such permissiveness is not out of nowhere, because thanks to the freedom of action and the lack of attachment to tactical schemes, Panarin was able to fully reveal himself in the Rangers and become the team’s top scorer this season.

Therefore, no one was surprised when, at the start of the second 20-minute period, Panarin made another scoring pass and helped the Blueshirts convert the majority. The forward beautifully apologized for the recent mistake. The Rangers, on the other hand, did not deviate from the given coaching setup and continued to bombard the Domingue goal. And in the middle of the second period, the Penguins’ keeper faltered again.

Yielding by two goals, Pittsburgh was in no hurry to give up. Yes, the Penguins don’t have Shesterkin or even a playoff-level goaltender, but they do have Sidney Crosby. The Canadian reduced the gap to a minimum and recorded the fourth point in the current playoff draw. But that’s where Pittsburgh’s impulse ended.

In the middle of the final 20 minutes, the Rangers upset the Penguins twice. And Panarin again took part in one of the washers. The Russian from behind the gate with an uncomfortable hand shot at a penny, but it turned out even better than he expected – the puck flew into the goal after a rebound from the defender’s foot.

A few minutes later, Craig Vatrano set the final score in the match, throwing the fifth puck into the Penguins’ gate. It seemed that the teams would calmly finish the match, keeping in mind the third meeting of the series. But two minutes before the end of the final 20 minutes, Penguin forward Jeff Carter knocked down Shesterkin at speed, which, of course, provoked a fight. The Russian, on the other hand, lay motionless on the ice for almost a minute, but, fortunately, soon got up and continued the game. Fans reacted violently to this episode. Most fans called Carter’s act dirty and accused the attacker of deliberately trying to break Shesterkin. However, there were those who spoke about the simulation of the keeper.

– Shesterkin behaves like a football player after he initiated the contact, – writes Alobar15

“He lay down for 30 seconds and then jumped up as if nothing had happened,” says dani_c_mcg

Give Shesterkin an Oscar! — writes Zach23

As a result, the Rangers took a convincing revenge on Pittsburgh – 5:2. Panarin became one of the creators of this victory – the forward made an assistant double and scored an abandoned puck. Three points lift him to 24th place in the list of scorers in the playoffs among the Russians.

Shesterkin also became the first keeper in almost 70 years, who managed to make more than 100 rescues in the first two games of the playoffs. And the Penguins, it seems, will now hunt for the Russian goalkeeper.