PITTSBURGH — If there was one overriding theme to the Rangers and Penguins preparation for Tuesday night’s Game 7 it was about scoring the first goal.
Much of the pregame talk from both teams was about getting off to a fast start. In each of the first six games of the series, the team that scored first won the game.
So when Rangers center Brian Boyle gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead at 5:25 of the first period, it did not guarantee victory — which the Rangers eventually would secure, 2-1, to advance to the conference finals against the winner of the Bruins-Canadiens series. But it set of lot of Rangers minds at ease and made an already tense situation for Pittsburgh, which was in the process of blowing a 3-1 series lead, quite a bit more stressful.
“That first goal was so huge,’’ Rangers center Brad Richards said. “The teams [in the series] that scored the first goal were 7-0 — not that you look at that stat, but it means something — especially in a Game 7. Because you settle into the game better and you get more comfortable.
“It gave us more belief. When you’re in a situation that we were in the last week (down 3-1), it’s every little thing you can build on. Belief mounts. And that goal gave us more belief that we’re here and we’re going to be here right until the end.’’
The goal by Boyle, who’s going to be a free agent at the end of the season, sapped the raucous Consol Energy Center of its early energy when he finished off a nifty give-and-go sequence.
“‘[Derek Dorsett] made a great pass to me and I kicked it over to [Dominic Moore] and he made the pass back to me and it kind of hit a stick and slowed down, so I figured [Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury] was open. I tried to find a spot through his legs and it worked.’’
Rangers defenseman Marc Staal called the goal “huge.’’
“It’s even bigger when you’re on the road,” he said. “You get that first one and it makes the crowd quiet, makes [the Penguins] think a little bit. It allowed us to kind of settle in and play our game. All year long we’ve been a good team with the lead. None bigger than tonight.’’
Thanks in large part to Boyle, who has two goals and two assists in the playoffs.
“It’s a pretty fun thing we’ve got going right now,’’ Boyle said. “It’s been a memorable season so far, and we don’t want it to end.’’