RALEIGH, N.C. — In his own unique, playful way, Evgeny Kuznetsov promised the New York Rangers if they had to return to North Carolina for an increasingly unspeakable first game. Game 6 of the second-round series, they will go to hell.
Oh, but it’s not hell. Even the night’s theme was “Causing Hell.” Not even when AC/DC’s “Hell’s Bells” sounded before the puck hit the floor. Even as Carolina’s notoriously rowdy fans reached new heights, the Hurricanes took a two-goal lead heading into the third period at PNC Arena. this is nothing.
No, a potential Game 7 is going to be hell if the Rangers don’t get out of this mess in time to salvage this series. After winning the first seven games of the playoffs, Hell would endure a resounding loss in the second round. It would be a shame to become just the fifth team in Stanley Cup Playoff history to have a 3-0 series lead broken. He added his first of Game 6 when he swept Ryan Lindgren’s shot from the midsection off the goal line when he had already beaten Frederik Andersen through his legs. Hell will try to sleep while endlessly reliving Jordan Martinuk’s bizarre and wonderful save in the second period.
Hell always knows they’ve let the Rangers’ golden opportunity to win a second Stanley Cup in 84 years slip through their fingers, squandering one of the best seasons in franchise history.
“I get scared just thinking about it,” Artemi Panarin said.
deeper
How the Rangers came together to defeat the Hurricanes: 5 takeaways
Panarin can admit it now. Now Rangers have proven their mettle. Now, Chris Kreider joins the likes of Matteau and Messier in Rangers legend with a hat trick to make it 3-1 in the third quarter A deficit turned into a 5-3 victory in Game 6 in front of a silent, stunned Carolina crowd. Now, the Rangers’ next game at Madison Square Garden will be Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Florida Panthers or Boston Bruins rather than a winner’s pass in Game 7 against the never-say-die Hurricanes. Eating competition versus.
NHL postgame locker rooms are never that rowdy after a series victory that doesn’t involve the Stanley Cup itself. The players are too tired and there is too much work to do. Save the champagne, plastic wrap, and ski goggles until late June. So there wasn’t much celebration in the cramped visitors’ room at PNC Field after that. But there’s a palpable sense of relief in knowing that the Rangers are simply teasing the notoriety, rather than setting a date with it.
“Honestly, I got a little nervous on the bench when we were down a couple goals,” said Panarin, who sometimes seemed unable to bluff the way most professional athletes do. “Still in the third quarter, we were behind. I was actually nervous. But we did it – thank God.
It’s funny how quickly things change.
The Rangers were dead in the water, trailing 3-1, handling the puck like grenades and conceding goal after goal. Carolina goalie Frederik Andersen then dropped the puck from Mika Zibanejad in his skates, and Kreider converted it.
deeper
After Rangers series win, Eastern Conference finals await another test
The Rangers’ power play was lackluster, with nine straight chances without a goal and few real chances. Kreider then tipped in Panarin’s shot to tie the game.
The game seemed destined to go into overtime, with both teams firing on all cylinders. Kreider then completed a hat trick and the Hurricanes fell into chaos.
Nine minutes. Going from a 3-1 deficit to a 4-3 lead in nine minutes turned Kreider from franchise pillar to franchise legend, turning a historic choke job into a historic Rangers gut punch. Check, let’s make the historical – hurricane comeback a historical hypothetical.
“They’re a great team,” said Barkley Goudreau, who finally eased the tension with a 143-foot empty-netter with 48.1 seconds left. “It’s not like we’re up 3-0 and they’re going to roll over. They’re a very good team and we know they’re going to fight back. We probably didn’t play well last game, but I think the whole Season, whenever that happens, we bounce back and come out stronger for the next game.
It’s one thing to do that in the regular season. Doing it in the playoffs is another thing entirely. Now Rangers know what they are capable of. Over the past few games, New York’s first two lines have probably been on milk cartons. In Game 6, they totaled four goals and six assists in the final 35 minutes. Shesterkin, like Kreider, found his groove, intercepting Carolina captain Jordan Staal’s shot from close range shortly before Kreider equalized with 2 remaining. At the minute and 39 seconds, Andrei Svechnikov was hit with an unsuspecting rock from the low post, and Anderson equalized. For the first time, Rangers were put to the test – a real test – and they delivered with flying colors.
The Rangers were never going to go 16-0; that just doesn’t happen in the NHL. This is better. Championship teams are forged in the flames of frustration and futility. Championship teams find a way.
On the other side of the handshake line, there’s a team still trying to find that way. The Hurricanes look like legitimate contenders for the fourth straight season. For the fourth consecutive season, they were winless after the second round of the playoffs. There are also common culprits. For all their advantages — a ruthless front that wreaked havoc in the offensive zone, a Rod Blinder-Amour-esque work ethic that led to miraculous plays like Martinuk’s save, deep The back end allowed them to control the tempo well – the Hurricanes still didn’t score enough in the first half and didn’t save enough goals. Jake Guentzel was their trade deadline addition and a highly sought-after sniper who was absolutely brilliant in his short time in Carolina but has not scored in his past three games. Only one assist. Midway through the second period, Sebastian Aho scored off a pass from Andrei Svechnikov to make it 3-1, but The dynamic top line still finished the postseason 5-4 in five-on-five play.
And then there’s Andersen. Playoff Freddy (technically an unfair nickname, but Freddy didn’t exactly roll off the tongue late in the series) reared his ugly head again, going 5-8 while facing elimination ( Including wins in games 4 and 5). He made just 19 saves on 23 shots, and his save percentage dropped to a paltry 0.897 in the knockout rounds. He’s 0-4 with a .856 save percentage in Game 7, so even if the Rangers don’t get that one out of the Broadway hat, Carolina will have a lot of trouble Saturday night Need to overcome.
This is a familiar melody and a familiar pain.
“It’s a tough way to end a great year,” Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “These guys have been working their butts off all year long. But that’s what you have to remember. That’s the hardest part.
deeper
Black Panther is a historically hate-watching series I hope never ends
Now that the Rangers have a few days off, they can sit back and watch the Bruins and Panthers beat each other up in another game (preferably two). All the tension that had been weighing on them since losing Game 4 was gone now, but it would come back with a vengeance the next time the puck dropped. For all the work, all the sweat, and all the energy expended, they’re only half done. This is playoff hockey—a relentless, painful, grueling mental and physical grind that is beautiful but brutal at the same time.
You might say, hell.
But Rangers now know they can handle the situation. They now know they can thrive in it.
“We’re just trying not to get frustrated,” Panarin said. “It was the playoffs. It’s up and down every time. It’s hard to do it sometimes. But we did it.
(Above: Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
