NEW YORK -- New York Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi was injured with 9:29 remaining in the third period Thursday at Madison Square Garden after he was struck on the right side of his face by a deflected shot from Pittsburgh Penguins forward Chris Kunitz.
Girardi did not return to the game. Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said Girardi was being seen by the team dentist, but he did not have any further update.
The Rangers protected their one-goal lead while playing with five defensemen in the final 9:29 of the third to defeat the Penguins 2-1 in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference First Round. The Rangers have a 1-0 lead in the best-of-7 series, which continues on Saturday with Game 2 at Madison Square Garden (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, TVA).
"Especially when you have a lead Danny is one of the guys you want on your side," Rangers center Derick Brassard said. "He's playing a lot of minutes with [Ryan] McDonagh and he's one of the guys that is going to be there in the last minute. He's a shutdown D-man. We hope he's going to be fine, but other guys in our lineup on defense they stepped up for the last 10 minutes and that's the depth we have on defense. We saw it [Thursday]."
Defenseman Marc Staal played five shifts totaling 6:07 in the final 9:29 of the game, including the last 2:45 of the game. McDonagh played six shifts totaling 4:04 after Girardi left.
"We were down to a few minutes in the game, gotta play with the players that's available and that's what we did," Vigneault said.
Rangers defenseman Kevin Klein did not play in Game 1 because of an arm injury and his status for Game 2 is unknown.
---
NHL.com is the official web site of the National Hockey League. NHL, the NHL Shield, the word mark and image of the Stanley Cup, the Stanley Cup Playoffs logo, the Stanley Cup Final logo, Center Ice name and logo, NHL Conference logos, NHL Winter Classic name, and The Biggest Assist Happens Off The Ice are registered trademarks and Vintage Hockey word mark and logo, The Game Lives Where You Do, NHL Winter Classic logo, NHL Heritage Classic name and logo, NHL Stadium Series name and logo, NHL All-Star logo, NHL Face-Off name and logo, NHL. TV, NHL Premium, NHL After Dark, NHL GameCenter, NHL GameCenter LIVE, NHL Network name and logo, NHL Tonight name and logo, On The Fly, NHL Awards name and logo, NHL Draft name and logo, Hockey Fights Cancer, Because It's The Cup, NHL Green name and logo, NHL Vault, Hockey Is For Everyone, NHL Thanksgiving Showdown name and logo, NHL Centennial Classic name and logo, NHL Centennial Season logo, NHL100 Classic name and logo, NHL Global Series name and logo, NHL China Games name and logo, and Don't Miss A Moment are trademarks of the National Hockey League. All NHL logos and marks and NHL team logos and marks depicted herein are the property of the NHL and the respective teams and may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of NHL Enterprises, L.P. © NHL 2018. All Rights Reserved. All NHL team jerseys customized with NHL players' names and numbers are officially licensed by the NHL and the NHLPA. The Zamboni word mark and configuration of the Zamboni ice resurfacing machine are registered trademarks of Frank J. Zamboni & Co., Inc. © Frank J. Zamboni & Co., Inc. 2018. All Rights Reserved. Any other third party trademarks or copyrights are property of their respective owners. All rights reserved.