Tokyo, 30 April, /AJMEDIA/
Pushed to the brink of elimination, the New York Rangers found their offensive touch.
Chris Kreider had another power-play goal and two assists as the Rangers beat the New Jersey Devils 5-2 on Saturday night to force a deciding Game 7 in their first-round series.
Mika Zibanejad and Vladimir Tarasenko each had a goal and an assist for New York, which totaled just two goals while losing the previous three games. Barclay Goodrow and Braden Schneider also scored, and Adam Fox added two assists. Igor Shesterkin stopped 34 shots.
“We came here to win one game, I think you heard everyone talk about that,” Zibanejad said. “Wins are all that matter and we got the win we needed and wanted tonight. Now we just keep going.”
Looking to jump-start the lagging offense, Rangers coach Gerard Gallant shuffled his lines, moving Tarasenko up to the top line with Kreider and Zibanejad. It paid off as the trio combined for three goals and four assists.
“The team just played well as a whole,” Kreider said. “We played together, did a lot of things we talked about and executed well.”
Curtis Lazar and Dawson Mercer scored for New Jersey. Akira Schmid, who had stopped 80 of 82 shots over the previous three games, was pulled after giving up five goals on 29 shots.
“We did a lot of good stuff tonight,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. “Generated a lot of good opportunities. I thought penalties hurt us.”
Game 7 is Monday night at New Jersey.
MAPLE LEAFS 2, LIGHTNING 1
In Tampa, Florida, John Tavares scored 4:35 into overtime, and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 on Saturday night for their first NHL playoff series win in nearly two decades.
The Maple Leafs won the best-of-seven matchup in six games, winning three times in overtime on the road and ending an 11-game losing streak in elimination games. They advanced in a series for the first time since 2004, a frustrating drought that included first-round exits each of the past six seasons.
The loss, meanwhile, ends Tampa Bay’s run of three consecutive appearances in the Stanley Cup Final. The Lightning won back-to-back championships in 2020 and 2021, but they lost to the Colorado Avalanche in six games last year.
Auston Matthews also scored for the Maple Leafs, beating Andrei Vasilevskiy from the top of the right circle at 13:47 of the second period. Tavares added the winner, which trickled past the Lightning goalie after appearing to deflect off a defender’s skate.
Steven Stamkos scored for Tampa Bay, which a year ago rallied from 2-1 and 3-2 series deficits to eliminate Toronto in the first round in seven games.
Two nights after stopping 28 shots to fend off elimination and trim Toronto’s series lead to 3-2, Vasilevskiy was on top of his game again.
Toronto goalie Ilya Samsonov was just as good, holding Tampa Bay scoreless until Stamkos positioned himself perfectly in front of the net to knock in a rebound at 4:19 of the third period.
Samsonov finished with 31 saves. Vasilevskiy stopped 20 of 22 shots.
OILERS 5, KINGS 4
In Los Angeles, Kailer Yamamoto scored with 3:02 remaining for his first point of the series as the Edmonton Oilers beat the Los Angeles Kings 5-4 in Game 6 to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
In a series dominated by superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, it was the Oilers’ fourth line that played a pivotal role. Besides Yamamoto, Klim Kostin had two goals and an assist.
“It didn’t go in the net early in the series but he stuck with it. He stuck with it and eventually ended up scoring the series winner,” Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said.
Yamamoto — who lived in Los Angeles for three years and played youth hockey for the Jr. Kings — got possession of the puck deep in the offensive zone, skated around and then sent a wrist shot through traffic and past the right shoulder and stick of Kings goaltender Joonas Korpisalo.
“Being in this position it’s pretty crazy. Playing against them last year you get your hopes up,” Yamamoto said about scoring a pivotal goal against the Kings. “To be able to beat them is an amazing feeling.”
McDavid and Draisaitl also scored while Stuart Skinner stopped 40 shots as the Oilers knocked the Kings out of the postseason for the second straight season.
Next up for Edmonton is the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round. The Oilers won three of the four regular-season meetings, but Vegas won the Pacific Division by two points on the way to the top seed in the Western Conference.
The series will start in Las Vegas but the NHL has not announced when Game 1 will be played.
