Artemi Panarin had a goal and three assists and the New York Rangers got a first four-goal period Tuesday until an 8-4 hook from the Pittsburgh Penguins visitors.
Adam Fox had one goal and two assists for the Rangers, and Colin Blackwell, Kaapo Kakko, Mika Zibanejad, Ryan Strome and Pavel Buchnevich added one goal and one assist to each team.
Rookie Alexis Lafreniere also scored his sixth goal of the year in New York, which is 3-0-1 in his last four games. Rangers goalkeeper Igor Shesterkin made 41 saves.
Mike Matheson had a goal and assist, and Jared McCann, Jake Guentzel and Brian Dumoulin also scored for Pittsburgh, who left the second consecutive round.
Tristan Jarry, after a two-game absence due to injury, allowed four goals in 11 shots in the first before being relieved by Casey DeSmith, who made 10 saves.
The Rangers took a 1-0 lead at 1:35 of the first when Blackwell’s pass fell to Matheson. Zibanejad scored a rebound at 7:28 to push to 2-0.
In a power play by the Rangers, Panarin fired a shot across the screen at 9:58 to take a 3-0 lead.
The Penguins responded 40 seconds later, also in a power play, as McCann scored from the top of the left circle through Fox’s legs and under Shesterkin’s pads.
With 17.7 seconds left for the first, Strome scored from the top of the right point on a short-screen shot during another power play to make it 4-1.
Lafreniere made it 5-1 at 12:20 of the second on a stern angle shot that got behind DeSmith and was hit over the goal line by Pittsburgh’s John Marino. Sixteen seconds later, Matheson closed it at 5-2 with a rising shot from the left circle.
The Rangers scored their third goal of the game at 6:10 of the third, on the tip of Kakko from a Trouba throw for a 6-2 lead.
Matheson’s back pass set up Guentzel’s one-time goal to close it at 6-3 at 8:04 of the third.
At 10:22 of the third, Fox, who extended their points streak to 11 games, scored short, and Buchnevich scored 19 seconds later to increase it to 8-3.
Dumoulin’s goal with 1:24 made it 8-4.