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Rangers stars shine in season-saving win, force game seven.

By Marvin Azrak |
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On the brink of extinction and staring at an extended Summer, the New York Rangers stars finally showed up.

Chris Kreider redirected home his fifth power-play goal of the series, Mika Zibanejad scored his first of the playoffs, Vladimir Tarasenko added a crucial insurance tally, and Igor Shesterkin made 34 saves as the Blueshirts defeated the New Jersey Devils 5-2, forcing a winner-take-all game seven on Monday night at 8 PM at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

In the 48 hours between their 4-0 loss in game five and game six, the Rangers emphasized the importance of not surrendering an early goal, which the Devils had done in games four and five before coasting from there.

So when Curtis Lazar registered his first point as a Devil since they acquired him at the trade deadline from the Vancouver Canucks, pouncing on a rebound at 11:49 of the first period, which gave New Jersey a 1-0 lead, the boisterous Madison Square Garden crowd went silent.

“They came out and had a really good push and were able to generate some zone time, but I think we did a good job of staying patient, maintaining lanes, getting pucks out when we could, and eventually getting our looks,” Kreider told lohoud.com. “It was just a matter of staying patient and sticking with our game.”

It didn’t come without help, as a Dawson Mercer tripping penalty on a Patrick Kane breakaway late in the opening stanza gave New York a power play where they would snap their 0 for 14 skids.
A Zibanejad one-timer attempt redirected off of Kreider’s leg sending the Garden into a frenzy.

The tally got the Rangers off and running, as they chased Devils goaltender Akira Schmid with five unanswered goals after being unable to break him for 97:55. The barrage brought the rookie goaltender back to earth after he stoned the Blueshirts for three straight contests and officially gave Devils head coach Lindy Ruff, second thoughts of who to start in game seven.

He could either turn to Vitek Vanecek, who won 33 games in the regular season and brought them to the playoffs before yielding nine goals in the first two games of the series, or stick with a potentially rattled Schmid. Regardless of who he chooses, New York undoubtedly has the advantage between the pipes.

Igor Shesterkin was the difference in game six with 34 saves on 36 shots and must be again for New York to advance to a second-round rematch with the Carolina Hurricanes, who eliminated the New York Islanders on Friday night in six games.

Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant may have said he liked the Rangers’ effort in game five, but the lineup he rolled out for game six proved otherwise. Looking to wake up an offense limited to two goals in the past three games, Tarasenko played on the top line with Kreider and Zibanejad. At the same time, Alexis Lafrenière skated alongside Vincent Trocheck and Patrick Kane.
Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant may have said he liked the Rangers’ effort in game five, but the lineup he rolled out for game six proved otherwise. Looking to wake up an offense limited to two goals in the past three games, Tarasenko played on the top line with Kreider and Zibanejad. At the same time, Alexis Lafrenière skated alongside Vincent Trocheck and Patrick Kane. /

But Gallant’s most surprising move was the demotion of Artemi Panarin to the third line with Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko. It resulted in him seeing reduced minutes and was a sign the coach had lost trust in his top regular-season playmaker.

“Guys know they’re top players, and they’re not scoring,” he said before the game. It’s what it’s all about. You go to every series, and the team that’s probably losing right now, a lot of coaches and a lot of players, and a lot of teams are saying the same thing. We’ve got to get our top guys to score.”

The changes did get those top guys to perform, as they finally outmuscled New Jersey’s defenders to the inside and cashed in on their chances from the slot.

Shortly after Kreider tied it, the Devils took another penalty as time expired on the first period when Ondrej Palat was boxed twice in the span of 3:21. Although New Jersey killed off both of those penalties, it wore down their top players. It gave the Rangers the matchups they wanted when the teams returned to even strength.

It proved true when Kreider found himself with time and space behind the net and quickly fed Zibanejad, who roofed it over Schmid at the 10:10 mark of the second period, giving the Rangers the lead for good.

The tally was Zibanejad’s first of the postseason and provided a sense of relief for the team’s regular-season leading goal scorer. “I’m not going to sit here and lie and say it wasn’t a good feeling seeing the puck go in,” he said. “I wish I scored on every shot. This would be a really simple game, but it’s not. Obviously, playing with the guys I’m playing with, they just keep trusting me, and I keep trusting myself.”

Tarasenko had trouble with trust when he first arrived in New York after they acquired the Stanley Cup champion at the trade deadline from the ST Louis Blues. But ever since he’s settled in, Tarasenko’s raised his play, earning him a spot on the top line where he notched his third goal of the series. Akin to Zibanejad’s goal, the play began with the Ranger’s newly implemented 1-2-2 forecheck to match New Jersey’s 1-2-2 defense.

The overload on the strong side slowed the Devils’ speed when they tried to weave through the neutral zone and allowed the Rangers to skate into the offensive zone with numbers. After winning his puck battle with Micheal McLeod, Kreider found Tarasenko in the slot, whose top-shelf tally made it 3-1 with 1:35 left in the second period.

“I just try to do whatever these guys tell me,” Tarasenko said. “Let the coaches make the decisions, and then you just have to go out and play. This game was do or die.” However, despite being outsmarted, the Devils didn’t back down, peppered the Rangers’ net, and controlled puck possession in the first and third periods. But as he’s done all series, Shesterkin stood tall and stymied the speedy New Jersey attack.

The consensus entering this series was if any game came down to goaltending, the Rangers would undoubtedly have the edge, and Igor Shesterkin showed why. The netminder made 34 saves on 36 shots, improving to 6-2 in potential elimination games in his career, and raised his series save percentage to .939.
The consensus entering this series was if any game came down to goaltending, the Rangers would undoubtedly have the edge, and Igor Shesterkin showed why. The netminder made 34 saves on 36 shots, improving to 6-2 in potential elimination games in his career, and raised his series save percentage to .939. /

There were several moments when the Devils’ trademark transition game overwhelmed the Rangers’ defense. The Blueshirts nearly doubled the Devils in the giveaway department 23-12, their most in a game this series. That number must significantly decrease if they want to win game seven.
Still, this was the Shesterkin show, and New Jersey couldn’t do anything to stop it. He made a slew of saves when New Jersey hemmed the Rangers in their end for over a minute following Lazar’s goal. Then, Shesterkin made three point-blank saves on Dawson Mercer, Erik Haula, and Timo Meier when the Devils made a penalty kill feel like a power play in the second period.

When Jack Hughes, booed by the MSG crowd every time he touched the puck, tried to split the Rangers’ defense for another highlight-reel goal, Shesterkin stopped him all nine times. When Tomas Tatar attempted to answer with a quick strike following Tarasenko’s tally, Shesterkin came out to the top of the crease to stonewall him.

Then early in the third, he flashed the leather on Damion Severson to preserve the Rangers’ cushion. Just for good measure, he robbed Nico Hischier in the slot before basking in “Igor” chants name from the adoring crowd.

The unsuccessful attempts forced the Devils’ defenseman to pinch into the offensive zone, which burned them when Jimmy Vesey and Barclay Goodrow converted on an odd-man rush.  Schmid stopped Vesey’s shot, but Goodrow knocked in the rebound for a rare fourth-line goal, extending the Rangers’ lead to 4-1.

Defenseman Braden Schneider then blasted a point shot for his first goal since January, ending Schmid’s night with 7:23 remaining. “Everybody has their role,” Captain Jacob Trouba told the NY post.  “Come this time; it’s everyone. Schneids scoring, we need those contributions. I think our fourth line played great. They chipped in with a goal going to the net. It’s a whole team effort.”

Schmid finished with 24 saves on 29 shots and a -2.1 Goals Saved Above Expected. Mercer scored a power-play goal which became a two man-advantage with five minutes left when Ruff pulled Vanecek for the extra attacker, but the writing was already on the wall. This series is going the distance, and the Rangers, who will be playing their third game seven in the past two postseasons, wouldn’t have it any other way.

“It seems like we’re playing a lot of them, unfortunately,” Kreider said. ‘It’s awesome. Whoever you’re playing in Game 7 is gonna be really fun”, Adam Fox said. “We’ve had some experience with it. Being that it’s so close in proximity and a rivalry, it adds a little meaning, but for us, no matter the opponent, it’s do or die.”

ALL EYES ON JERSEY:

The finale will also be the NHL’s final game of round one, as the Toronto Maple Leafs and. Edmonton Oilers secured second-round berths on Saturday night. For Toronto, their 2-1 overtime victory on the road in game six on a goal by captain John Tavares, clinched their first playoff series victory since 2004 and eliminated the three-time defending Eastern Conference champions, Tampa Bay Lightning. The Lightning vanquished the Rangers in six games in last season’s Eastern Conference Final.

Meanwhile, the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Los Angeles Kings 5-4 on the road in game six and will face the Vegas Golden Knights, who defeated the Winnipeg Jets in five games earlier this week in round two. The Oiler’s victory ensured the Rangers-Devils tilt would start at 8:00 instead of 7:00, as a potential game seven of that series was also slated for Monday.

There are two games seven’s happening on Sunday, as the Florida Panthers will look to complete the 3-1 series comeback and upset the Boston Bruins, who set the regular season record for wins(65) and points(135). Out West, the reigning Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche will look to put away the feisty Seattle Kraken, who are searching for their first playoff series victory in their franchise’s first appearance and second year of existence.

MARV’S 3 STARS:
1 Igor Shesterkin (34 saves on 36 shots, +1.6 Goals Saved Above Expected)
2 Chris Kreider  (1 goal, 2 assists, 16:24 of ice time)
3 Mika Zibanejad (1 goal, 1 assist, +2 rating, 2 hits, 1 block, 1 takeaway, 17:00 of ice time)
Honorable Star: Vladimir Tarasenko (1 Goal 1 Assist, +2 rating, 1 takeaway, 15:02 of ice time)

BLS FAN COMMENT OF THE NIGHT:

“Good job staving off total and complete humiliation tonight. The real game is Monday night. Game 7. Let’s hope Kreider has the game of his life again. He has NEVER passed the puck like that in his entire career. Those 2 assists were the difference.” -MoreGrit

WHAT THEY SAID:

“Saturday night’s game was a disaster. The New Jersey Devils now have to go back to Prudential Center for Game 7 after a rough final 40 minutes at the Garden. Igor Shesterkin has been so good in this series. While fans might not want to admit it, experience and goaltending are probably the two most important things regarding this kind of situation. Big players will show up on big nights.” “In net, Schmid had a bit of an off night. He’s certainly not to blame for all the goals. Pulling him, however, was not something that made a lot of sense at the time. We just have to hope it doesn’t impact his confidence because he has to start the next game and has to play like a top-tier goalie or this season is over.”-David Holliday, Pucks and Pitchforks

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