PITTSBURGH -- The New York Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2 to steal home-ice advantage from the higher-seeded Penguins and tie the series 1-1.

How it happened: The Rangers evened the series by relying on a time-tested formula: timely saves from goalie Henrik Lundqvist combined with a relentless forecheck.

Trailing 1-0 with time winding down in the second period and looking like the Rangers might be bested by third-string goalie Jeff Zatkoff for a second straight game, Lundqvist made a terrific pad save on Chris Kunitz. From that moment on the Rangers forced the Penguins into crucial turnovers and scored three goals in the last 7 minutes, 22 seconds of the second period. The crucial goal among the three was Derick Brassard's breakaway marker that came 24 seconds after Keith Yandle had tied the game. Brassard stole the puck from Olli Maatta, who had a tough afternoon along the Penguins' blue line. The play was challenged, reminiscent of the crucial moment in Saturday’s Chicago Blackhawks-St. Louis Blues game when the Blues lost a goal on review that was ruled to have been offside. In this case, officials ruled Brassard had possession and control of the puck and the crucial goal stood. Lundqvist then stoned Bryan Rust on a clear-cut breakaway shortly before Mats Zuccarello extended the Ranger lead to 3-1.

What it means: As though there were any worries that Lundqvist was fully recovered from the scary eye issue that saw him leave Game 1 after the first period of Pittsburgh's 5-2 victory, that was put to rest early Saturday. Specifically, Lundqvist denied a Kris Letang redirect of an Evgeni Malkin pass in the first period and helped stabilize the Rangers in the crucial moments after Phil Kessel had given the Penguins a 1-0 lead 3:21 into the second. The Rangers also benefited from some line juggling by head coach Alain Vigneault, who moved Mats Zuccarello away from center Derick Brassard using J.T. Miller and Rick Nash with Brassard. Miller drew the primary assist on all three second-period New York goals. As for the Penguins, they could not take advantage of the return of Malkin to the lineup for the first time since March 11, although he did draw an assist on a third-period goal. Malkin showed expected rust but it was the Penguins’ defensive that miscues cost them. Through two periods, the Rangers outhit Pittsburgh 41-15 and 57-25 overall. Hard to fault Zatkoff, who finished stopping 24 of 28 Ranger shots; still, it’s hard to imagine that the extra off day between Games 2 and 3 won’t see Marc-Andre Fleury return to the lineup Tuesday, 7 p.m. ET in New York at Madison Square Garden.