RALEIGH, N.C. — Four years after the Rangers announced an organizational rebuild via a letter to their fans, the Blueshirts are heading for the Eastern Conference Final, and a matchup against the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning, after the Rangers won their second Game 7 of this spring’s playoffs, beating the Carolina Hurricanes, 6-2
The victory by the Rangers stunned the Hurricanes, the Metropolitan Division champions in the regular season. The loss was Carolina’s first at home in these playoffs, and it ended the Hurricanes’ streak of six straight Game 7 wins since the franchise moved here from Hartford in 1997.
Igor Shesterkin, was once again the biggest star for the Rangers, making 36 saves and keeping the team in it early, when the Hurricanes were dominating possession and piling up the shots on goal. Shesterkin made 16 saves in the first period. Chris Kreider (two), Adam Fox, Ryan Strome, Filip Chytil and Andrew Copp scored the Rangers goals.
Ex-Ranger Tony DeAngelo scored on a power play at 8:11 of the third period, pulling Carolina within 4-1. Chytil answered that 40 seconds later, however.
Max Domi added a goal for Carolina at 16:43 of the third period to make it 5-2.
The Rangers scored twice on the power play in three chances, while killing three of four Carolina power plays.
The Rangers’ victory sets up a tantalizing goalie showdown in the conference final between Shesterkin, the best goaltender in the league this season, and fellow Russian Andrei Vasilevskiy, who is generally regarded as the best goalie in the league over the past several years.
Game 1 against the Tampa Bay Lightning will be at MSG Wednesday at 8 p.m.
Shesterkin, who had been pulled from the net twice in the Rangers’ first-round series against Pittsburgh, has been magnificent since then, entering Monday’s game with a 2.11 goals-against average and a .937 save percentage since Game 4 against Pittsburgh. The Hart Trophy finalist and likely Vezina Trophy winner as the NHL’s best goalie in the regular season had been even better in the series against Carolina. In the first six games of the series, he had a 1.67 GAA and .949 save percentage.
“I think he's been great,’’ Rangers forward Ryan Strome said after Monday’s morning skate of Shesterkin. “He's been our best player all year. Any little hiccups, ups and downs, it doesn't really last too long with him. And we know what he's capable of. And he knows how good he is.’’
Much had been made of the fact that the Hurricanes had won all their home games and lost all their road games in this postseason, and the simplest possible explanation for that was that Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour had the last line change at home and thus was able to dictate matchups. And Brind’Amour’s checking line of Jordan Staal, Nino Niederreiter and ex-Ranger Jesper Fast had been effective in shutting down the Rangers’ top line of Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider and Frank Vatrano.
But Carolina couldn’t dictate matchups on Ranger power plays, and that’s how Gerard Gallant’s men took the lead early in the first period. After Carolina had dominated the game’s opening shift, Sebastian Aho took a hooking penalty at 1:42, and two seconds before the penalty expired, Fox took a drop pass from Alexis Lafreniere and whipped a wrist shot through traffic that got by Hurricanes goalie Antti Raanta to make it 1-0 at 3:40.
Then, Carolina was called for a too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty at 7:46, right after Jacob Trouba had dropped Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis to the ice with a heavy hit that caused the 20-year-old rookie to crawl back to the bench. He would leave the game at that point and did not return.
The Rangers made the sequence hurt even more when Kreider tipped in Zibanejad’s shot on the power play for his first goal of the series.
In the second period, Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren, who has been playing through a left foot injury, was forced to leave the game for a while after being hit into he boards by Carolina’s Nino Niederreiter. He was able to return before the period was over, but Carolina’s Raanta was not so lucky.
Raanta appeared to injure himself while stretching his right leg out to try and make a save and then falling face-first to the ice in obvious pain. He was helped off the ice and to the dressing room with 4:23 remaining in the period, unable to put weight on his right leg. He was replaced by Pyotr Kochetkov.
Strome welcomed Kochetkov to the game by whipping a shot from his off-wing by the substitute goalie to make it 3-0 at 16:19 of the period. Kreider made it 4-0 at 3:59 of the third period, cutting in from the wing and tucking a backhander in past Kochetkov for his second goal of the game.
