PITTSBURGH -- Hand goaltender Henrik Lundqvist a one-goal lead, set up a fortress in front of him and defy the opposing team to score. That's the formula that worked for the New York Rangers on Wednesday.

Lundqvist made 34 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Rangers won their fourth game in a row, 3-0 against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Consol Energy Center.

It was Lundqvist's 58th career shutout and his sixth all-time against the Penguins as he improved to 27-14-4.

Right winger Kevin Hayes, center Dominic Moore and right winger Jesper Fast provided the goals for the Rangers, who held onto a 1-0 lead for much of the game.

"We smothered them," Hayes said. "They didn't get many grade-A chances. They got a lot of shots on net, but that's why we have Henrik. He makes the first save and they didn't really get a lot of rebound shots, and that just shows how good our team defense has been lately and the reason why we got a shutout here."

Lundqvist and New York stifled a Pittsburgh offense that had been prolific recently. The Penguins won each of their previous six home games, averaging 4.7 goals a game, and they won six of their previous seven overall.

In addition to the 34 Penguins shots that got through to Lundqvist, they launched another 25 that were blocked by the Rangers and 14 that missed the net, including a couple off of the crossbar.

"Yes, they got a lot of shot attempts, but we were keeping to the outside, and when they got on the inside Hank made some big saves," New York coach Alain Vigneault said.

"I thought for the most part we played their top players well. We had back pressure. We made sure we had (an advantage in) numbers."

Pittsburgh center Sidney Crosby, in particular, had been racking up points at a strong pace. He entered the game with an 11-game point streak, a nine-game home goal streak, a seven-game overall goal streak and 12 points in his previous four games. In this one, he had no shots and was on the ice for all three New York goals.

"I felt like we were getting to loose pucks and rebounds," Lundqvist said. "We were right there to help me clean things up. We knew coming into this building that we're playing a really hot team and their top player is playing really well. It was a great challenge for us."

It was the teams' first meeting of the season, and the first time they played since the Rangers beat the Penguins in five games in the first round of the 2014-15 playoffs. In that series -- and a losing second-round series against New York a year earlier -- Pittsburgh struggled to score.

That doesn't mean the Rangers were in the Penguins' head in terms of offense.

"I think what's happened in the past is in the past," Crosby said. "We had some good chances. They capitalized on theirs, and we didn't."

Hayes got a rebound of a shot by left winger Tanner Glass and, moving to his right in front of the crease, created an angle that gave him a wide opening behind goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury for a 1-0 New York lead at 8:34 of the first period.

At that point, the Rangers were able to move into shutdown mode.

"We were facing a really good team that was focusing on defense in the game, so it's going to be hard," said Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang. "You don't play the Rangers and expect to score seven goals.

"They're a good shot-blocking team, too. They just jammed the front of the net. It's just a matter of (us) finishing."

That one-goal count held until Moore scored off of a two-on-one with center Chris Kreider at 4:21 of the third period. Moore kept the puck, and from the top of the right circle, snapped the puck far side over Fleury's shoulder to make it 2-0.

Fast added an empty-netter with 1:31 left in regulation.

Fleury finished with 19 saves.

Pittsburgh defenseman Trevor Daley did not return after the first period. There was no explanation for his absence, but it's possible he got hurt during the first period when he crashed back-first into a goal post.

NOTES: Pittsburgh played its third game in a row without C Evgeni Malkin, who was listed earlier in the week as day-to-day with a lower-body injury but now will miss at least the next two games. ... The Penguins scratched D Ian Cole and LW Sergei Plotnikov. ... Rangers G Henrik Lundqvist's start gave him 666 appearances, tying Mike Richter for the most in team history. ... New York D Ryan McDonagh (concussion) and LW Rick Nash (leg injury) did not make the trip. McDonagh missed his second game in a row, Nash his seventh. ... The Rangers had no healthy scratches. ... Pittsburgh's next two games on Friday at Carolina and Monday at Florida will serve as a fathers trip. ... The Rangers play their next three at home, beginning Friday against Los Angeles.