PITTSBURGH — If you thought the Rangers had an uphill climb against the surging Penguins, that mountain just got steeper.
In an early double blow to any Stanley Cup dreams, Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist suffered an injury near his right eye late in the first period last night and was replaced by backup Antti Raanta.
The Rangers couldn’t solve Penguins substitute goaltender Jeff Zatkoff, playing in his first NHL post-season game, for the first two periods and dropped Game 1 of the best-of-seven first-round series, 5-2.
Zatkoff had stepped on stage at Consol Energy Center when Marc-Andre Fleury, who practiced in the morning but hadn’t played since March 31 after sustaining a concussion, was scratched, and finished with 35 saves.