The Rangers completed the comeback to take down the Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-3, on Sunday night.
Here are the takeaways…
– The Blueshirts got on the board first with Chris Kreider scoring on a slap shot on a 2-on-1 play with 12:24 remaining in the first and after Igor Shesterkin made about three to four saves on the other end just a minute earlier.
Pittsburgh’s Marcus Pettersson just missed a goal of his own after hitting the post with about 6 and a half minutes left in the period. Andrew Copp then had a chance on the counterattack but Tristan Jarry was there for the save.
At the 15:45 minute mark, Sidney Crosby attempted a shot but was hit soon after, resulting in a scuffle between both sides. Ryan Strome and Bryan Rust would be put in the penalty box as both teams had four on the ice.
Not long after, Jacob Trouba hit Mike Matheson in the face with a high stick which resulted in a 4-on-3 advantage for the Penguins. On the power play, Danton Heinen tied the game at one with just over a minute left in the period on a shot that initially looked like a goal but was quickly slapped out of the way. It was reviewed and confirmed as a goal.
– In the second, Shesterkin was immediately tested, making three saves a minute in. In fact, both goalies had a ton of traffic to contend with, with bodies slipping and sliding in front of them all night.
Then, on a power play of their own, the Rangers couldn’t find the back of the net with Artemi Panarin hitting the post and Tyler Motte kissing the crossbar.
With 9:42 left in the second, Jake Guentzel broke the tie on a controversial goal. After kicking the puck up to himself in front of the goal, Guentzel tipped it in just beyond the outstretched arm of Shesterkin. The goal was reviewed after it appeared Guentzel made contact with the puck above the plane of the crossbar, but the call was ultimately confirmed.
A minute later, K’Andre Miller’s shot was deflected off the skate of Matheson in front of the goal and trickled in to tie the game at two. The tie was short-lived, though, after Evan Rodrigues’ back-handed goal off a steal right off of the penalty kill with 2:36 left in the period gave the Penguins a 3-2 lead they took into the third period.
– With their season on the line and down one for most of the period, Mika Zibanejad came up clutch for the Rangers, finding the back of the net with 5:45 left in the game on a one-timer in the middle of the ice.
Shesterkin and the defense did the rest, not allowing a goal in the third and sending this Game 7 to overtime.
– In OT, after the Penguins were penalized for holding, Panarin sent one through Jarry’s glove side that sneaked in, sending everybody home happy. And after falling to a 3-1 deficit and on the brink of elimination, the Rangers won three games in a row to advance to the second round of the playoffs.
Highlights
What’s next
The Rangers advance to face off against the Carolina Hurricanes in the Second Round of the NHL Playoffs.
