Late Goal Lifts Rangers over Penguins to Force Game 7

PITTSBURGH — Madison Square Garden will get its first Game 7 since 2015. 

Chris Kreider scored late in the third period and the Rangers beat the Penguins 5-3 in Game 6 of their first-round playoff series at PPG Paints Arena on Friday night. 

The Rangers staved off elimination by storming back from a 2-0 deficit for the second time in as many games to defeat the Penguins, who were without star Sidney Crosby and are seemingly more and more shorthanded by the day. 

At this point, rallying from behind is like second nature for the Rangers. But it was how they did it this time around that is of note. 

There was Mika Zibanejad, who had been a non-factor for a majority of the series due to his matchup with Crosby and the rest of Pittsburgh’s top line, breaking through with two goals and two assists, the second one on Kreider’s game-winner. 

There was the Rangers’ power play (the version from the regular season and not from the previous five games), which scored twice in big moments. 

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There were the Rangers, playing like the one-for-all, all-for-one team they had been all through the regular season. 

“We’ve been able to come together as a team through hard times over the course of the year — over the course of the last couple years,” said Kreider, who scored the game-winning goal with 1:28 left in the third period on a long shot that popped over Penguins goalie Louis Domingue and in before Andrew Copp’s empty-netter sealed the deal with 27 seconds to go. 

“I think it’s been a long time coming for us,” Kreider said. “Regardless of the situation, I’m proud of the way this team competes. Whether we’re down, whether we’re up, trying to get to our game, trying to play the same way.” 

After the Rangers were severely outplayed in the opening 20 minutes and falling into a 2-0 hole due to goals from Jeff Carter and Bryan Rust, their power play sparked one of the classic comebacks that have been part of the club’s identity all year. 

Ryan Lindgren got away with a cross check on Evan Rodrigues into the boards and the Penguins winger was hit with a roughing penalty for retaliating. The Rangers made quick work of their first power play of the night, with Zibanejad scoring his first of the series just over five minutes into the second period. 

That goal opened the floodgates for Zibanejad, who blasted a one-timer from the top of the left circle 1:16 later to knot the score 2-2. 

The Rangers then had momentum on their side, and when they earned another power-play opportunity, goalie Igor Shesterkin sprung Zibanejad with a ridiculous stretch pass that ended up with Kreider finishing the play for the Rangers’ first lead of the night, 3-2, at 13:48 of the second period. 

Charged with stepping in for Crosby, who sat with a suspected concussion, Penguins center Evgeni Malkin picked off a weak pass from Jacob Trouba and buried one on a breakaway under Shesterkin’s glove to tie it up 3-3 with just under 3:30 left in the period. 

The Penguins had their chances in the third period, as did the Rangers. But when it’s in your nature, it tends to go your way. 

“The guys that we have in there, I feel like it’s a big family,” Zibanejad said. “Everyone wants the same thing. Everyone’s working for each other. Everyone wants success for the guy sitting next to you. It’s honestly one of the biggest reasons why we’re here today. We’ve shown it throughout the year, throughout this series. You don’t get that for free. It’s something special about this group and we just got to keep going.” 

Before the series, Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant said he thought home-ice advantage only mattered in Game 7. It will be up to the Garden fans to ensure it matters. 

“I hope I’m right,” Gallant said. “We’ve played well in our building. It’s a Game 7, winner goes on, loser goes home.”