Joe Domingue, Danton Heinen star as Penguins surge past Rangers 7-4

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com.

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.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Pittsburgh Penguins' Evan Rodrigues (9) celebrates his second goal of the first period in Game 3 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the New York Rangers in Pittsburgh, Saturday, May 7, 2022. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

"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