A lot of people were shocked when Jeff Zatkoff was the Penguins’ starting goalie Wednesday night.
Zatkoff wasn’t one of them.
He said he “had a pretty good idea” Tuesday night that he would be filling in for Marc-Andre Fleury, who is recovering from a concussion.
And Zatkoff made the most of having time to prepare, stopping 35 shots to lead the Penguins to a 5-2 victory against the New York Rangers at Consol Energy Center in Game 1 of their opening-round playoff series.
“He was probably our best player,” right winger Patric Hornqvist said. “The first 10 or 15 minutes, he made three or four really good saves to keep it 0-0. If they get it to 1-0, it’s probably a [different] game.”
The Rangers didn’t get the first goal, and Zatkoff, who made his Stanley Cup playoffs debut, never allowed them to have a lead.
Strong as his performance was, Zatkoff had to share top billing with Hornqvist, who recorded his first career playoff hat trick.
“It was a good night for me,” Hornqvist said.
But possibly a better one for Zatkoff. He got the call because Fleury did not dress for the game despite participating in the morning skate, while backup Matt Murray is out with an unspecified injury.
Before replacing Murray in the regular-season finale Saturday in Philadelphia, Zatkoff had not played since Feb. 20, but there was no rust evident on his game against the Rangers.
That’s mostly because he spent countless hours — before, during and after practices — preparing for an opportunity there was no guarantee ever would come.
“You can’t predict what’s going to happen,” Zatkoff said. “Just make sure you stay ready and control what you can control.”
What he couldn’t control was the defensive effort of his teammates, but they came through in a big way, blocking 22 shots and limiting New York’s second-chance opportunities.
“Our guys made a lot of blocks before pucks got to the net,” Zatkoff said. “I was able to find the ones that made it through, for the most part.”
While Fleury was absent from the start, New York only had its go-to goalie, Henrik Lundqvist, for the first 20 minutes.
Late in the first period, he was struck in or near the eye by the stick of Rangers defenseman Marc Staal and was replaced by Antti Raanta for the final two periods.
Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said Lundqvist will be re-examined today.
About a half-minute after Lundqvist was hurt, Hornqvist put a shot between his legs to give the Penguins a lead they never relinquished.
Although they were being outshot, 12-3, at one point —“Obviously, our first period was not as good as we wanted,” Hornqvist said — Zatkoff kept New York from scoring.
Hornqvist sprung Sidney Crosby on a breakaway that led to the Penguins’ second goal at 18:56 of the second and, after Derek Stepan ruined Zatkoff’s shutout bid at 3:10 of the third, Tom Kuhnhackl scored a short-handed goal that proved to be the winner at 5:31.
Hornqvist added a power-play goal at 8:02 and, after Stepan struck again at 10:11, closed out the scoring with an empty-netter at 17:10.
That secured Zatkoff’s first career playoff victory and helped to make an enduring memory for him, as the crowd saluted him late in regulation by chanting his name.
“That sent chills through me a little bit,” Zatkoff said.
“That’s exciting. … It’s fun getting the job done at home in front of your fans.
“It’s a special moment. It’s one I’ll always remember.”
Dave Molinari: Dmolinari@Post-Gazette.com and Twitter @MolinariPG.
First Published: April 14, 2016, 3:02 a.m.
Updated: April 14, 2016, 4:39 a.m.