Resilient Rangers Force A Game Seven: Game 6 Recap

Having their backs up against the wall and their season on the line at home isn't unfamiliar territory for Gerard Gallant's group. The New York Rangers showed the "No Quit" once again, rallying to a 5-2 victory at Madison Square Garden to force a game seven.

The vibes were immaculate leading up to the puck drop at Madison Square Garden for game six. John Brancy got the Ranger fans going with a beautiful rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. 

The New York Rangers didn't get off to the hot start they wanted. The New Jersey Devils dominated puck possession in the opening three minutes, keeping the Rangers hemmed in their own zone. 

New York got the game's first power play opportunity, which allowed us to see the changes that Gerard Gallant made to the units. Mika Zibanejad was back in his usual spot on the left circle and Vladimir Tarasenko replaced Patrick Kane on the first unit. They got some good looks, but once again failed to convert. 

New Jersey would break through with the game's crucial first goal shortly after killing off the penalty. Getting the first marker in this game was very important for both teams and for the third straight game, it was the Devils who scored it. 

Curtis Lazar was left wide open at the net mouth and was able to bang home a rebound off of the point shot by Kevin Bahl. 

The Devils' lead wouldn't last for very long as they started to play a tad undisciplined. 

Patrick Kane had a clear-cut breakaway, but Dawson Mercer made a fantastic diving play knocking the puck off of Kane's stick. That being said, he still committed a trip on Kane, so he would go to the box, but because he got the puck first, it negated a penalty shot. 

On that ensuing power play, the Rangers' struggles would finally end. Zibanejad let a one-timer rip from the left circle, it was going well wide, but it happened to deflect off of Kreider's shin pad and beat Akira Schmid, knotting the game at one apiece. 

MSG exploded with relief. 

The Devils would commit yet another tripping penalty at the end of the first period, giving a well-rested Rangers power play another chance at the start of the middle frame. They failed to convert on their fourth chance of the game, but the Rangers would take the lead a little more than halfway through the second period. Zibanejad was left wide open in the slot and was fed a beautiful pass by Kreider. 

Zibanejad wasted no time and roofed it past Schmid for his first goal of the postseason. MSG was the loudest it has been all playoffs after seeing that puck go in. 

The Rangers would continue to build on their momentum as it felt that the ice started to tilt in their favor. 

Kreider would get his third point of the night, finding Tarasenko wide open in the slot, leading to an absolute missile glove side on Schmid at the 18:25 mark of period number two, giving the Rangers a 3-1 lead. 

New York had all of the momentum heading into the final frame. 

The offensive explosion would continue in the final twenty minutes for the New York Rangers. 

Barclay Goodrow knocked a rebound out of mid-air on a 2-on-1 with Jimmy Vesey, giving the Rangers a 4-1 lead at the 7:23 mark of the period. 

Five minutes and five seconds later, Braden Schneider got his first goal of the playoffs on a one-timer from the blue line. 

Lindy Ruff would yank Schmid after the Schneider goal, giving Vitek Vanecek the remainder of the game. 

Dawson Mercer added a power-play tally for the Devils with 4:48 remaining in the game, but it didn't affect the crowd's enthusiasm. 

The atmosphere in Madison Square Garden was absolutely electric for the entire third period. It was clear the Rangers were feeding off of it. 

The Rangers would hang on and finish the game with a big 5-2 victory, making it a theme that in all three of their wins in the series, they have scored exactly five goals. 

I asked Chris Kreider about what the convincing wins in this series do to the team's confidence "I don’t think it matters how you win at this point in the season. I think sometimes when you go up, the other team has to open up a bit to get opportunities. Some of these games are a lot closer than the score might indicate.”

In tonight's game especially, the score did not reflect what the game looked like. The Devils were very solid for most of the evening, they just couldn't find a way to beat Shesterkin consistently enough. 

New Jersey pulled their goalie late in the game to try and mount a comeback, giving Igor Shesterkin the green light to shoot for the empty net, which was hilarious. 

I asked Gerard Gallant in the postgame what he thought about his netminder trying to score in a moment like that, to which he said "Go for it. As long as they didn’t score I was happy with it.”

The next 48 hours will certainly have a ton of build-up, considering that the last time these two teams played in a game seven it led to one of the most historic moments in NHL history, the "Matteau! Matteau! Matteau!" goal. 

Of course, this is going to be a historic game in this incredible rivalry. One of the Rangers who grew up watching the Rangers-Devils rivalry will now have a chance to etch his name in the history books. I asked Adam Fox what this specific game seven means to him “It’s awesome. Whoever you’re playing in Game 7 is gonna be really fun. We’ve had some experience with it. Being that it’s so close in proximity and a rivalry it adds a little meaning, but for us, no matter the opponent, it’s do or die.”

The Rangers played in two of these nerve-wracking games last postseason, winning both of them (one on the road and one at home), so now the experience vs. non-experience will certainly be a conversation. 

Both fan bases now get to be on edge until Monday night, but Rangers and Devils fans should be excited because a new chapter in the rivalry is about to create years of memories. 

Can the Rangers finally put the Adam Henrique overtime goal behind them? Or will the Devils add to the pre-existing bragging rights?

Only time will tell.