PITTSBURGH — Chris Kreider did not miss this time around. 

After whiffing on a wide-open net on a power-play opportunity in the second period, the longest tenured Ranger took a centering feed from Vincent Trocheck and buried it past Penguins netminder Tristan Jarry to tie the game. 

It secured at least one point for his team, but Kris Letang scored a power-play goal 1:38 into overtime to hand the Blueshirts a 3-2 loss Sunday night at PPG Paints Arena. 

The Rangers essentially have a miniseries on deck against the Penguins, who they knocked out in seven games in the first round of the playoffs last season.

But it’s more than that. It’s a stretch of games with postseason position on the line. 

“They’re all big games,” Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant said before Sunday’s contest, in which both clubs’ mutual disdain for one another was on full display. “Today and the next five at home after that, they’re all big games against division opponents. It’s going to be a battle. It’s fun.” 

Equipped with new line combinations — which also changed throughout the game — but still no Ryan Lindgren, the Rangers are still searching for their offensive rhythm.

Both teams were playing the second night of a back-to-back, and yet the Penguins appeared to have more jump than the Rangers early on. 

With the game tied at one-all after the first period, in which Rickard Rakell scored a power-play goal for the Penguins and Barclay Goodrow later evened the score, Pittsburgh dominated the beginning of the middle frame. 

Jason Zucker’s shot from the top of the zone deflected in off Mika Zibanejad’s skate less than a minute-and-a-half in to give the Penguins a 2-1 lead. 

The turnovers continue to pour out of the Rangers, who couldn’t make up for it even with two power-play opportunities.

It was on the second man-advantage stretch that Kreider had nothing but net in front of him, but still shot the puck right into Jarry, who was sprawled out on the other side of the goal. 

Captain Jacob Trouba, public enemy No. 1 in the city of Pittsburgh, helped jump-start his team by knocking Alex Nylander over with an open-ice hit.

The Penguins, with shades of Trouba’s hit that knocked their captain, Sidney Crosby, out in Game 6 of last year’s first round in their eyes, took exception. 

The boo birds were already out for Trouba from puck drop, but they intensified to a ‘Trouba Sucks!’ chant. 

Goalie Jaroslav Halak gave the Rangers every chance to win in this one, stopping 32 of the 34 shots he faced.

He came up with a massive save on Alex Nylander on a Penguins two-on-one rush in the final seconds of regulation among several other key stops. 

The Rangers were overzealous with the hits and physicality to start the game.

Throwing the body around nonstop while sacrificing defensive positioning, they were called for three penalties within the first 5:20, which included two stretches defending five-on-three. 

Rakell capitalized for the Penguins after picking the top corner on Halak to open the scoring just over six minutes into the first period. 

The game then settled down for the Rangers, who tied it up later in the period when Goodrow cleaned up a rebound. 

Goodrow, Jimmy Vesey and Tyler Motte were one of the most productive lines for the second straight game.

Goal aside, Goodrow and Vesey are beginning to develop some chemistry while Motte applies pressure at every crevice of the ice when he can.