Domingue Dynasty

After entering Game 1 in double overtime, and making 17 saves in relief to secure a triple overtime win over the New York Rangers, Louis Domingue did a walk-off interview with ESPN - and there, his legend was born.

"I actually had quite the meal between the first and second overtime," he said that night. "I didn't expect going in, but maybe it sustained my energy. It was some spicy pork and broccoli... Not the best (laughs)."
That quote endeared him to all of Pittsburgh, and Domingue's legend has since grown as much as the city's appetite for spicy pork and broccoli as the 30-year-old netminder has been thrust into the starter's role with injuries to both Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith.

After putting together a solid performance in Game 2 on Thursday, Domingue played in front of the Penguins faithful for the first time in Game 3 on Saturday, making 32 saves in their 7-4 victory to help Pittsburgh take a 2-1 series lead.
"It was awesome," said Domingue, whose previous appearances - two during the regular season before getting called into this series - had all come on the road. "It's the first experience for me at home, I haven't played one game at home. So it's cool to experience the full thing, ya know? It doesn't get any better than the playoffs."
Even before the puck dropped, the city of Pittsburgh was already paying homage to their newly crowned king by offering his now-famous dinner in two different areas in PPG Paints Arena. Fans could visit the Nakama location for spicy pork and broccoli and their choice of fried rice or lo mein noodles, while the media and crew members for the five networks airing the game were served spicy pork and broccoli in the media meal room.
Right after Domingue led the Penguins onto the ice for the start of the game and skated into the crease, the fans began showering him with support. Chants of "LOUUU!!!" rang out as he was announced as the starting goaltender, and never stopped the entire night, except when the crowd switched it up with the proper pronunciation of his first name - "LOU-EE! LOU-EE!"
The Penguins and their netminder fed off that energy - which Mike Sullivan called "electric" - for the first period, where they skated out to an impressive 4-1 lead over New York. But the Rangers regrouped and responded in the second, tying the score 4-4 after 40 minutes of play.
"At the end of the day, it's a 0-0 game, and you gotta win the third," Domingue said. "And I thought we really elevated our game. Not only me, but the whole team."

That was all despite dealing with their fair share of adversity in the final frame, as the Penguins had to kill off 35 seconds remaining on a penalty to Danton Heinen. Then, they had to kill off a penalty to Evgeni Malkin at the 2:19 mark. Then, they had to kill off yet anotherpenalty, with Heinen going back to the box at the 6:29 mark.
The Penguins have been struggling shorthanded all series, but they dug deep and found a way to get the job done when it mattered most, with Domingue playing a critical role in that. His teammates called him their best penalty killer, and the goaltender said he couldn't have done it without the fans.
"The crowd really kept me in this game tonight," Domingue said. "Coming into the third, having to kill two penalties like that and having to make a couple saves - they gave me confidence, definitely."
He stayed focused once the Penguins went back to full strength, coming up with an incredibly timely stop on Artemi Panarin, one of the most skilled players in the league who had scored his second in as many games in the second period. From there, Pittsburgh went the other way and Heinen got what would stand as the game-winner.
"I was very confident that we were going to win that game if we killed those two penalties," Domingue said. "It gave us momentum, and then on that save, I kind of saw him out of the corner of my eye and tried to just put my body in front of it. That was kind of a wholesale moment, trying to just get the frame in front of it. It was a huge moment in my confidence in that series, for sure."
Domingue is an experienced, confident and capable NHL goalie, but prior to this, he only had 18 minutes of NHL playoff action to his name back in 2018 with Tampa Bay. As he put it, "for the first time in the last whatever seven years I've been in the league - in and out of the league, actually - it's the first time I'm a rookie again." But while every moment, every day, is a new experience, he's trying to approach it all as if it's just another game.
"At the end of the day, we're playing hockey. From the moment I brought my net outside in the street and put my rollerblades on and played outside and had cars go around my net, this is the film I was playing in my head the whole time," Domingue said. "Even if it's new to me, this is a film that I've been playing in my head for a long time.
"So I'm trying to control my emotions. It's pretty hard, to be honest. It's so new and it's a lot, but we're gonna take it a day at a time and move on. We're gonna enjoy tonight. And then tomorrow, it's Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers. But we're going to just move on and move on to the next game."