Rangers 3, Penguins 1: Martin St. Louis and Carl Hagelin scored early in the first period as host New York staved off elimination for the second consecutive contest to force a decisive Game 7 in its Eastern Conference second-round series.

Derick Brassard also tallied for his third goal in two games and Henrik Lundqvist finished with 36 saves for the Rangers, who travel to Pittsburgh for Tuesday's showdown. New York has won two of the three contests in the Steel City, posting a 3-2 overtime victory in Game 1 and a 5-1 triumph in Game 5.

The Rangers shot out of the blocks in a hurry as Derek Stepan's backhanded bid from the slot caromed off the skate of St. Louis and into the net 3:34 into the first period to open the scoring. Hagelin doubled the advantage under three minutes later, collecting his own rebound and backhanding a shot from the left faceoff circle past Marc-Andre Fleury (26 saves) for his fourth goal of the postseason.

Pittsburgh benefited from a friendly carom to halve the deficit with 3:04 remaining in the first. Brandon Sutter's shot from along the right-wing boards near the circle deflected off New York defenseman Kevin Klein and into the net.

Brassard regained the Rangers' two-goal advantage with 4 1/2 minutes left in the second. After Fleury failed in his attempt to control a rebound, Brassard alertly kicked the puck off the goaltender before batting it out of mid-air and into the net.

GAME NOTEBOOK: St. Louis' wife and father were in attendance at Madison Square Garden. The veteran forward promptly retrieved the puck after scoring his goal, perhaps a Mother's Day memento to honor his mom France, who died on Thursday. ... Penguins captain Sidney Crosby ignited a skirmish at the end of the second period by jabbing his stick below the belt of Rangers C Dominic Moore. ... New York LW Chris Kreider appeared to give his team a 3-1 lead 5:55 into the second by scoring on a breakaway. He was pushed from behind by Pittsburgh D Kris Letang before barreling into Fleury, resulting in Kreider being whistled for goaltender interference. ... Pittsburgh rookie D Olli Maatta was in the lineup despite missing the morning skate due to a reported illness.