The highlight of the Penguins’ opening goal against the Rangers on Thursday, April 8, is obvious— rookie Radim Zohorna, who not only towers over the entire Rangers roster at 6-foot-6 but can out-skate many of them as well, swung through the crease before tucking home his second goal in his fourth NHL game.
But the most interesting aspect to that play may be its setup, which followed a pattern that many Penguins goals have in their recent surge to a playoff spot (they’ve gone 14-4-1 in their past 19 games): the goal was set up by a defenseman.