Heinen's goal ignites late surge, Penguins top Rangers

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Louis Domingue remembers dragging a net out into the street, pulling on his rollerblades and dreaming what it would be like to be in the NHL playoffs.

The reality is surpassing the Pittsburgh Penguins' backup to the backup goaltender's greatest expectations.

The journeyman stopped 32 shots — including a handful on the penalty kill in the third period with the Penguins reeling — to set the stage for Danton Heinen's late tally as Pittsburgh surged past the New York Rangers 7-4 on Saturday night to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round series.

“In the last whatever, seven years, I’ve been in and out of the league, it’s the first time I’m a rookie again,” said Domingue, thrust into action with All-Star Tristan Jarry and top reserve Casey DeSmith both unavailable due to injury. “I’m a rookie in the playoffs ... every day is a new day for me. It’s a new experience.”

A wild one at that.

The Penguins grabbed control of the series heading into Monday night's Game 4 by chasing Vezina Trophy-favorite Igor Shesterkin in the first period, blowing a three-goal cushion in the second then responding even with the top line of Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel and Bryan Rust contributing nothing on the scoresheet until New York's net was empty in the final minutes.

“A lot of teams don’t recover from (losing a three-goal advantage),” Pittsburgh head coach Mike Sullivan said. "I think it speaks volumes to the leadership and the character of our group that we were able to move by it.”

The Penguins killed off a pair of penalties in the first half of the third to keep the score tied before Heinen jumped on a loose puck near the New York goal line and flicked a shot by Alexandar Georgiev 11:02 into the third to put the Penguins in