Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin made 20 saves one game after getting pulled for the second time in a span of five starts. On Tuesday, he gave up five goals on 24 shots in two periods in a 7-4 loss at the New Jersey Devils, which New York led 2-0 after the first period.
"We were happy with the first period against Jersey too," Kreider said. "That was the challenge for us tonight after our first period was to continue to play the same way and not get away from the things that allowed us to have success. We were able to do that."
New York used new forward lines, most notably, Alexis Lafreniere dropped from the first line, where he was playing right wing with Kreider and Zibanejad, to the third line so he could play left wing, his natural position, with Filip Chytil and Barclay Goodrow.
"I thought he was excellent tonight," Gallant said of Lafreniere.
The forward gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead at 2:07. He blocked a shot in the defensive zone, joined the rush for a 2-on-1, got behind Penguins defenseman Chad Ruhwedel, took a pass from Chytil, and scored with a forehand-backhand move.
"It was good to come back to my natural side," Lafreniere said. "I can play both sides, and we have so many options in our forward group. We're really deep. So wherever I need to play, I'll be ready, and it was a good game for everybody."
Kreider made it 2-0 at 3:58, scoring on a breakaway after a pass from Zibanejad. The forward has scored 44 goals this season, tied with Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl for second in the NHL behind Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (46).
Frank Vatrano made it 3-0 at 4:16. He was set up by Zibanejad for a one-timer from the slot.
Pittsburgh had a goal denied by goalie interference at 5:23.
"We got outplayed in every facet of the game," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "We got outcoached in every facet of the game. There's no excuses for it. They were just way better than us in every area."
The Rangers ended the first period by successfully killing Dryden Hunt's double minor for high-sticking Marcus Pettersson at 4:10.
"To me the turning point was killing that four-minute penalty at the end of the first period," Gallant said. "If they would have got one it's a different story, but it takes a lot out of them when they don't score on that four-minute power play."
Kreider gave New York a 4-0 lead with a shorthanded goal at 6:37 of the second period. He had a 2-on-1 with Zibanejad and scored from the right circle with a near-side one-timer. It was one of several odd-man rushes the Rangers had while killing a penalty.
"I think it was microcosm of our overall game," Sullivan said. "We struggled making tape-to-tape passes. We couldn't execute. We made poor decisions. We lacked awareness. We just weren't good in any aspect of the game."
