New York Rangers accomplish an NHL playoff first with Game 7 overtime win
The New York Rangers seemed down and out after a Game 4 rout loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, trailing 3-1 in the series.
But the Pens couldn’t close out the series, as the Rangers would make the three-game comeback to win it, capped off with a 4-3 overtime win in Game 7 Sunday night. Not even the return of captain Sidney Crosby, deadline acquisition Rickard Rakell and starting goaltender Tristan Jarry could shake the momentum for the Rangers, either.
Chris Kreider started off the scoring in the first period with his fifth goal of the playoffs. Danton Heinen would respond for the Penguins, although it took video review to check if it was in, so there was initially some play after the goal before the horn went off.
Jake Guentzel continued his hot series in the second, scoring his eighth goal of the postseason to take a 2-1 lead and showcasing some great athleticism to do so. It had to be reviewed due to a potential high-stick, but the goal would stand.
Jake Guentzel kicks the puck up from his skate, bats it into the net. A goal was called on the ice, but now it's under review. pic.twitter.com/6Tzcm8ylUz
— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) May 16, 2022K’Andre Miller would tie it just 1:05 later, but a late period breakaway goal from Evan Rodrigues would give the Pens a 3-2 lead going into the second intermission, and it was a pretty one at that.
Breakaway Backhand Beauty 🥵
Rodrigues breaks the tie with the shorthanded goal #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/aOY1YtU8be
The Penguins tried the best they could to shut down the Rangers in the third period, outshooting them 12-7, but that just wasn’t enough, as Mika Zibanejad would come up clutch to tie the game with less than six minutes to go, and just like this series started, we would need OT to finish it off.
NOT DONE YET 😨
Mika Zibanejad ties the game with just 5:45 remaining! #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/Zassbd0s8u
But this time, it wouldn’t require three overtimes to do so. In fact, less than five minutes into the period, Artemi Panarin would fire one home on the power play, winning the game and the series for the Rangers.
THE RANGERS WIN GAME 7 IN OVERTIME 🚨 pic.twitter.com/pf8Ov500LY
— NHLonTNT (@NHL_On_TNT) May 16, 2022Zibanejad would get another point with an assist on the OT goal, as well as his goal and his assist on the opening goal to give him three points on the night. Igor Shesterkin would stop 42 of the 45 shots he faced to help the Rangers yet again, while Jarry would allow four goals on 30 shots in his return.
The series win also means that the Rangers did something no other team has in the history of the NHL. They made comebacks in all three wins of their comeback series win, as they were down 2-0 in both Game 5 and 6 and found themselves down 2-1 and 3-2 in Game 7.
The New York Rangers are the first team in Stanley Cup Playoff history to record three consecutive comeback wins in elimination games within the same series pic.twitter.com/a9MOd1Bkcj
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 16, 2022The Rangers will move on to the second round to play the Carolina Hurricanes. The Rangers went 1-3-0 against the Hurricanes in the regular season.
The Penguins will head into one of the toughest offseasons they’ve had in a while, with Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust, and Kris Letang all unrestricted free agents. Rakell, Rodrigues, and DeSmith are also UFAs, while Kasperi Kapanen is an RFA.