The Panthers got off to a quick start, pouring pressure down deep in the Penguins’ zone. Noel Acciari redirected Anton Stralman’s point shot, but it hit the crossbar.
Pittsburgh created some chances of their own shortly after through Jake Guentzel and Justin Schultz, but Sergei Bobrovsky was there to stone them both.
Both sides exchanged a few more chances throughout the opening twenty minutes, but neither were able to break the deadlock, sending them into the locker room tied at zero after one.