So much for the Presidents' Trophy winners sticking it to the defending champions on Thursday night.

It was the Pittsburgh Penguins who came out of Game 1 victorious against the Washington Capitals, winning 3-2, and they did it with a combination of the deadly offense that got them to the second round and another dose of top-notch Marc-Andre Fleury action in the net.

The Ottawa Senators refused to be overlooked on Thursday as well, churning out highlight after highlight in a blow-for-blow battle with the New York Rangers and, ultimately, hanging on for a 2-1 Game 1 decision.

With four second-round games now in the books, here are some of the top takeaways from Thursday's Stanley Cup playoff matchups:

The Pens are going to be hard to stop if they're also hot on defense

Two second-period strikes from Sidney Crosby made the Pens look exactly like, well, the offensive juggernaut that ran through the Columbus Blue Jackets in the opening round of the postseason. After a quiet first period, Crosby's back-to-back goals had Pittsburgh with the early momentum and threatening to put a quick end to Washington's Game 1 hopes.

It was pretty fitting that the Caps' first retaliatory goal came courtesy of Alex Ovechkin, the Crosby nemesis himself, but a Nick Bonino score helped Pittsburgh retake its lead.

And Fleury's 33 saves, which made Washington's 35 shots on goal seem paltry compared to the Penguins' offensive attack, made just as, if not more, difference on the defensive side of the ice. If Pittsburgh's defense does just enough to quiet the Capitals' talented scorers as it did Thursday night, it's going to be pretty hard for Washington to claim its first playoff win over the Pens since 1994, especially as the series hits the road.

Senators-Rangers is going to be a battle of the goalies

Ottawa proved it cannot be taken lightly after a one-goal thwarting of the Rangers Thursday. Guy Boucher's defensive strategy certainly worked in halting New York's high-scoring offense from doing much damage in Game 1.

But the obvious note from the Senators' first matchup with the Rangers is that this series could very well be the second round's top goalie duel. Henrik Lundqvist was outdone, if only barely, in Game 1, but it's hard not to appreciate the efforts he gave in the net after an already impressive first-round showing.

Consider that Lundqvist's highlight-reel performance wasn't even the victorious one from Thursday's game, and it's even easier to give props to both "Hank" and Craig Anderson, who stopped all but one of New York's 35 shots on goal. This series is going to be a tough one, and if Ottawa is truly able to flex its defensive muscles, it could prove to be a bigger challenge for the Rangers than anticipated.

Especially if the Senators get more eye-opening shots from their defensive stud, Erik Karlsson, like Thursday's winner: