Rangers force Game 7, earn chance to win series after trailing 3-1
NEW YORK –
Four nights before Game 6, the Rangers felt all the pressure of a team facing the black cloud of elimination. The team had struggled in an embarrassing loss that saw one of its stars booed on home ice. Worse, the Penguins seemed better and almost certain to advance to the conference finals.
That pressure shifted back to the Penguins Sunday night after an emotional 3-1 Rangers victory evened the series and forced a Game 7 Tuesday night in Pittsburgh.
"Honestly, we have no pressure. It's been two games we've had nothing to lose," Game 5 hero Derick Brassard said after scoring his third goal in two games. "Those are the guys who were winning 3-1 in the series, and we tied it.
"It's one game. Anything can happen, but we're pretty confident."
Although the Rangers have yet to advance from a 3-1 series deficit in franchise history, they will play their fifth Game 7 since 2012, having won the previous four.
The team has been particularly stout facing elimination in general, winning 9 of 11, including seven straight at home, which tied the NHL record shared by Detroit (1934-40 and 1949-55) and Montreal (1941-50).
Henrik Lundqvist has been in net for all 11 of those games. He stopped 36 of 37 Pittsburgh shots Sunday night, allowing the lone goal on a shot that deflected in off teammate Kevin Klein.
He is now 7-0 with a 0.98 goals-against average and .967 save percentage in those elimination games at home.
"You're happy about the win and the way we played in such an important game," Lundqvist said. "But at the same time, it's the next one that counts."
The first goal seemed to count most for the Rangers, who received an early surge from a genuine goosebumps moment.
It arrived just 3:34 into the first period when 38-year-old Martin St. Louis — whose mother, France, passed away suddenly on Thursday — had the first goal of the game bounce in off his leg, sending the Garden crowd into a frenzy. Minutes earlier, fans had chanted "Marty! Marty!" to salute the grieving winger.
St. Louis immediately swooped into the corner and scooped up the puck. He said he later gave it to his dad, Normand, who flew in from Montreal for the game.
"(It was) an unbelievable start to the game," Rangers defenseman Marc Staal said. "I haven't heard that crowd that loud in a very long time."
Less than three minutes later, Carl Hagelin made it 2-0 Rangers when he beat goalie Marc-Andre Fleury with a backhand.
The teams engaged in physical, chippy, second and third periods. Chris Kreider had a goal waved off and was sent to the box after he crashed into Fleury 5:55 into the second. The Rangers later killed another penalty to Mats Zuccarello and went ahead 3-1 when Brassard swatted in a rebound.
The period ended in a pileup in front of Lundqvist, after Penguins star Sidney Crosby exchanged shoves with Dominic Moore and Chris Kunitz of Pittsburgh and Brian Boyle of the Rangers joined the scrum. The edgy play continued on into the third, which ended with the teams exchanging blows.
"It's an important game, obviously. You have to expect both teams to be on the edge. That's the way it should be," Lundqvist said. "It's the biggest game for both teams of the year. If you're not on an edge, I don't know what will take you to that place."
Twitter: @jthomson22
series at a glance
Game 1: Rangers 3,
Penguins 2, OT
Game 2: Penguins 3, Rangers 0
Game 3: Penguins 2, Rangers 0
Game 4: Penguins 4, Rangers 2
Game 5: Rangers 5,
Penguins 1
Game 6: Rangers 3,
Penguins 1
Game 7: At Pittsburgh, 7 p.m., Tuesday (NBCSPO)