Rangers force a Game 7
Kreider scores go-ahead goal with 1:28 left; finale at Garden on Sunday
Chris Kreider’s long slap shot bounced over Louis Domingue and into the net with 1:28 left and the New York Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-3 on Friday night to push their thrilling first-round series to a deciding Game 7.
Kreider’s second of the game and fourth of the playoffs sent the series back to New York. Andrew Copp added an empty netter for good measure in the waning seconds. Game 7 is Sunday at Madison
Square Garden.
Mike Zibanejad had two goals and two assists and Adam Fox had four assists. Igor Shesterkin stopped 31 shots to win at PPG Paints Arena for the first time this series after getting chased by Pittsburgh in Games 3 and 4.
Bryan Rust, Evgeni Malkin and Jeff Carter scored for Pittsburgh. Domingue, who has become a local folk hero while filling in for injured Tristan Jarry and Casey Desmith, made 33 saves but couldn’t get a handle on Kreider’s shot, which seemed to hit him high then popped up into the air and behind him before rolling into the net.
Pittsburgh played without captain Sidney Crosby, who sat out while dealing with an upperbody injury. His status going forward is uncertain.
Panthers 4, Capitals 3 (OT): Carter Verhaeghe scored the winner 2:46 into overtime to send Florida to the second round by beating Washington in Game 6. It’s the franchise’s first playoff series victory since 1996 when the Panthers reached the Stanley Cup Final. The Capitals were ousted in the first round for the fourth consecutive year. Florida will have home-ice advantage when it moves on to face either the Tampa Bay Lightning or Toronto Maple Leafs. Florida looked to be on the verge of a regulation victory until Gustav Forsling tripped Nicklas Backstrom with 1:09 left in the third period. T.J. Oshie scored 6 seconds into the Washington power play to send the sellout crowd of over 18,000 into a frenzy. Those fans were silent after Verhaeghe scored his sixth goal of the series to end it. Verhaeghe, Florida’s leading scorer in the series, missed the
morning skate and was considered a game-time decision.
Notes: Bruce Boudreau will return as coach of the Vancouver Canucks next season after helping to turn the struggling NHL club around as a midyear replacement. Speaking Friday afternoon after completing a “rough round” of golf, the 67-year-old Boudreau said “we have some unfinished business in Vancouver and I want to complete the task.”