NHL Playoffs: New York Rangers eliminate Carolina Hurricanes in Game 7
Anthony Scultore
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The NHL Playoffs had only second round series still undecided and it was the the New York Rangers, who advance to the Eastern Conference Final for the first time since 2015.
In Carolina, the Hurricanes were hoping home ice would continue to play to their advantage after winning the previous 7 games they’ve played at PNC Arena. For the Rangers, they just continued to show their resiliency that saw them win 27 games from behind during the regular-season.
The Rangers never trailed in this game as Adam Fox and Chris Kreider staked them to a two-goal lead after the first period. By winning Game 7, they are now 5-0 in elimination games this postseason.
NHL Playoffs: Rangers 6 vs Hurricanes 2
The New York Rangers are going to the Eastern Conference Finals after a 6-2 win against the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 7 on Monday night in Raleigh, N.C.
Kreider scored twice, Adam Fox had a goal and an assist, Ryan Strome, Filip Chytil and Andrew Copp also added tallies. Mika Zibanejad picked up three assists and leads the Rangers in playoff scoring with 19 points behind Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl (27 points each. Igor Shesterkin made 37 saves for the Rangers in the winning effort.
They will now host the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 1 on Wednesday. A remarkable turnaround after trailing in this series 2-0 and 3-2.
“Obviously, they’re a great team. They won two Cups. Jon Cooper is a great coach, good friend of mine. It should be a good battle,” Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said. “It should be a fun series. We played them well in the regular season (3-0-0), which means nothing, but we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
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Vincent Trocheck and Max Domi were the Carolina goal scorers. The Hurricanes lost Seth Jarvis early in the game after another monstrous Jacob Trouba hit. That was followed by Antti Raanta leaving with a lower-body injury late in the second period after recording 16 stops. Pyotr Kochetkov replaced him but could not keep the Rangers offer the score sheet stopping 9 of 12.
“We’re a resilient group, we’re a young group and we have a lot of faith in each other,” Fox said. “When our backs are against the wall it brings out the best in us.”
