The intrigue began just prior to puck drop, with expected Pittsburgh starter Matt Murray tweaking something in warmup leading to Marc-Andre Fleury getting the nod.
Brandon Dubinsky wasted no time setting the tone after winning the opening faceoff, dogging Sidney Crosby and finishing his first shift with a shot on-net.
The early pace was fast and furious, with the first good chance coming off the stick of Phil Kessel, though the attempt was thwarted by Sergei Bobrovsky. The chance was a result of a mis-read by the surprise third pairing duo of rookie Gabriel Carlsson and the little-used Scott Harrington.