Chris Kreider scored three goals in the third period as the resilient Rangers pulled off another comeback victory by defeating the Carolina Hurricanes 5-3 in Game 6 of their second round series in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Rangers, who had led the series 3–0 before losing consecutive games, finished off the Canes 4–2 to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. It is the fifth time the Blueshirts have gone to the Conference Finals since 2011-2012.
Kreider’s hat trick was the first of his career in the playoffs. His final goal, the game-winner, came with 4:19 left in the game. Barclay Goodrow added an empty-net goal with 48.1 seconds left for the Rangers, who trailed 3-1 entering the third period.
Here are the takeaways…
-The Rangers have thrived in comeback situations this year. They led the NHL with 28 comeback wins in the regular season, including 14 when trailing in the third period, and have now added five more in the playoffs. The 33 combined comeback wins are the most in team history and they are the fourth team in the past 30 years to have at least 32 combined comeback wins in a single season.
-Carolina took a 1-0 lead with a late goal in the first period, scoring with 1:22 remaining. Jordan Martinook had the puck behind the net and led wide open Martin Necaswho knocked his shot over the head Igor Shesterkin‘s glove. The goal came shortly after the Rangers with the Alexis Lafrenière-Vincent Trocheck-Artemi Panarin line that caused some havoc, but nothing showed up on the scoreboard or stat sheet. Overall, the Canes outscored the Rangers 8-3 in the first, although Carolina also blocked 10 Ranger shot attempts. The Blueshirts had a few chances, especially when Trocheck was alone in front of the net and got the puck from Panarin, but Trocheck couldn’t get anything on his shot and it was harmless.
-After two periods, Carolina had built the lead to 3-1. The Rangers got a power play early in the period, but quickly lost the man advantage when Kreider was whistled for cutting 43 seconds later. After the 4-on-4 play ended, the Canes took advantage of their own power play Seth Jarvis, perched to Shesterkin’s right, knocked in a loose puck. The Blueshirts answered quickly when Trocheck redirected a Panarin shot for his sixth goal of the playoffs. The assist was Panarin’s first point in three games. But the momentum the Rangers got from the count didn’t last long. Sebastian Aho went wild on a breakaway, resulting from a chip pass Andrei Svechnikov and beat Shesterkin on the glove side to give Carolina another two-goal lead.
-Twice in the second period the Canes made superlative defensive plays to thwart the Rangers. With 6:47 left in the second, Kreider made a nice feed to free Ryan Lindgren on a breakaway and Lindgren’s shot trickled through Andersen’s pads on its way to the goal line. But Martinook stuck his stick into the goal to prevent the puck from completely crossing the goal line, which it must do to be considered a goal. The piece will live on in highlights for years to come. Then, with about four minutes to go, Jalen Chatfield destroyed a Panarin breakaway with a well-timed stick check.
-In the third period, the Canes seemed to have the momentum early, with Martinook hitting the crossbar and a few minutes later, Jake Guentzel with 15:21 left to hit the post. But the Rangers scored to get within one goal with 13:17 remaining. Mika Zibanejad shot the puck at Andersen from the right side and Andersen made the save, but the puck stayed on his left skate. Before Andersen could try to freeze the ball, Kreider smacked it and drove it in. Then Kreider scored the tying goal with 9:02 left on the power play after a tip-in from a Panarin shot. The goal ended an 0-for-9 slide on the power play for the Rangers. Later in the period, Kreider scored again, his seventh goal in the playoffs so far, to give the Blueshirts their first lead of the night. It also gave him a natural hat-trick.
-Late in the game, Shesterkin made a game-saving stop with his pad, stopping Svechnikov with a clean look. Shesterkin stopped 33 of 36 shots.
GAME MVP: Chris Kreider
Naturally. He recorded the 16th hat trick in Rangers playoff history and the first since Derik Brassard did it in 2015.
Highlights
What’s next
The Rangers await the winner of the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers before beginning the Eastern Conference Finals at Madison Square Garden.
