Record night for Rangers
New York’s rally from 3-1 deficit is a first for franchise.
Henrik Lundqvist set an NHL record with his fifth straight Game 7 victory, making 35 saves to lift the New York Rangers to a 2-1 win over the host Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night and earn a spot in the Eastern Conference finals.
Brian Boyle and Brad Richards scored for New York, who rallied from a 3-1 series deficit for the first time in the franchise’s 88-year history.
The Rangers did it behind Lundqvist, who stopped 102 of the final 105 shots he faced over the final three games as New York advanced to the conference finals for the second time in three years.
The Rangers will play the winner of the Bruins-Canadiens series in the conference finals. That series is headed to a Game 7 tonight in Boston.
Jussi Jokinen scored his team-high seventh goal of the postseason for the Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury made 18 saves for the Penguins, who were outscored 10-3 over the final three games.
The Penguins fell to 2-7 all time at home in Game 7s, including three such losses in the past four seasons.
This one might have been the most painful for the core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and coach Dan Bylsma that seemed pointed toward a dynasty after winning the 2009 Stanley Cup.
Crosby, who led the league in scoring and is an MVP finalist, managed just one goal in 13 playoff games.
The Penguins are just 4-5 in playoff series over the past five seasons, with each loss coming to lower-seeded teams.
There are no such Game 7 issues for the Rangers. Not with Lundqvist in net.
He lost his first Game 7 appearance to Washington in 2009, but has been unbeatable ever since. His fifth straight triumph in a deciding game is a new league mark, break- ing a tie he shared with Patrick Roy, Ed Belfour and Cam Ward.
Gretzky jersey to be auctioned: A jersey worn by Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky will go on the auction block this week in Montreal. Sports collector Shawn Chaulk will sell the Edmonton jersey worn by the Great One when he broke Phil Esposito’s single-season scoring record of 76 goals. Gretzky broke the record with a hat trick against Buffalo in the last seven minutes of a game on Feb. 24, 1982. Gretzky finished with a record 92 goals that season, a mark that still stands. Chaulk says the jersey has “significant wear” and “dirty” with “lots of marks and identifiable intricacies and burns.” The price? Perhaps $250,000, he says.
Bettman visits Seattle: Commissioner Gary Bettman made a visit to Seattle to meet with local elected leaders to get an update on the status of a possible new arena. NHL spokesman Frank Brown said Bettman was on the West Coast for NHL playoff games and met with Seattle Mayor Ed Murray.
Capitals: Washington will keep the AHL’s Hershey Bears as its top minor league affiliate for 2014-15, the teams’ 10th consecutive season together.